Getting the Right People on the Bus: Recruitment and Hiring in Successful High-Poverty Urban Schools

• In Event: 61.023 - Developing Human Capital Within Successful High-Poverty Urban Schools

Abstract

Purposes

Strong teacher recruitment and hiring are critical to improving schools (AEE, 2014; TNTP, 2008). School-based hiring affords principals opportunities to conduct “information-rich” hiring that better ensures a “fit” between the prospective teacher and the school (Liu & Johnson, 2006, p. 1). However, little research has focused on how schools design and implement such processes. This paper explores how six high-performing, high-poverty schools approach recruitment and hiring, and how both principals and teachers experience these efforts.

Framework

This paper draws on a framework in which Liu and Johnson (2006) posit that districts and schools provide either information-rich or information-poor hiring processes. Information-rich hiring offers both schools and candidates with opportunities to learn about one another and consider the potential match. Teachers who enter schools via information-rich processes often report knowing what to expect and thus being more satisfied in their roles. Similarly, such schools learn about the skillset of incoming teachers and can plan appropriate induction. In contrast, information-poor hiring provides few opportunities for schools and candidates to explore whether a fit exists. Teachers who experience information-poor processes frequently report accepting positions that are not good matches for them; subsequently, they are more likely to leave.

Data and Methods

Data for this paper were drawn from a larger study of six schools (traditional, turnaround, and charter schools) in one city. The schools in the sample (1) are “high-poverty” according to federal designation; (2) have achieved the highest performance rating in their state’s accountability system, and (3) offer distinctive approaches to human capital development. At each school, we interviewed the principal, other administrators and one-third or more of the teachers (142 interviews in all). We identified emergent themes using thematic summaries and then coded transcribed interviews, which allowed us to identify patterns of similarity and difference within and across schools.

Results

At every school, principals described hiring as a critical function of their job. At two charters, a recruitment team carefully screened candidates for “mission-fit” before granting an interview with the principal. The third charter was developing a similar process. At all three charters, candidates previewed what one described as the school’s “extraordinarily demanding work ethic.” Similarly, the principals watched candidates teach—and often observed them receiving feedback about their teaching—before offering a position. They viewed that as evidence of the teacher’s readiness to learn.

Hiring processes were less developed at the three district schools. Nonetheless, candidates interviewed and taught demonstration lessons. This enabled principals to determine whether the candidate was a good match. Teachers explained that their interactions with the principal and future colleagues during the hiring process convinced them that, as one said, “the hard work would be worth it.”

Significance

This study offers a set of ideas for how schools can organize recruitment and hiring. Charter schools have been especially innovative on this front, and as districts grant increased hiring autonomy to schools, the lessons learned from this study will be useful to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers who are seeking ensure that schools are making wise investments and the candidates are making informed decisions.

Authors

• Nicole S. Simon, Harvard University

• Susan M. Johnson, Harvard University

• Stefanie Reinhorn, Harvard University