Hire people
It is important to not hire people that you need but hire people that believe in what you believe.
Hire experts
A great principal will have a math expert, a science expert, etc. among the teachers. It is imperative not to hire ex-coaches who can only teach social studies.
Young and old
Hire both young and full of enthusiasm and creativity and old who are have seen it all and have a great deal of experience.
Ron Clark Academy hiring process
Ron Clark Academy hiring process:
Send a demo of you teaching a lesson
Come to a panel interview (if invited)
Teach a class at the Academy
Send a demo of you teaching a lesson
Come to a panel interview (if invited)
Teach a class at the Academy
Interview
- Ask the interviewer to prepare a demo lesson for 15 min on a specific topic at the beginning of the interview
- Conduct an interview hire with a group of teachers from the school and get their opinion
- When interviewing a 2nd grade teacher, invite 2nd great team to the interview for their input
- When interviewing a math teacher, invite math teachers from the school and a math coordinator from the district if possible to the interview
- Structure the interview process, know what you are doing, communicate with the teachers
- Conduct an interview hire with a group of teachers from the school and get their opinion
- When interviewing a 2nd grade teacher, invite 2nd great team to the interview for their input
- When interviewing a math teacher, invite math teachers from the school and a math coordinator from the district if possible to the interview
- Structure the interview process, know what you are doing, communicate with the teachers
Always call everyone
Always call every interviewee to let them know, even if they won’t be hired
Principal does not have the authority to hire
Principal cannot say I want to hire you, the Board is the only entity that can hire, principals send a pre-approval form
Principal says: “I would like to recommend you for a position” when calling a new hire and then start a new hire paperwork
Principal says: “I would like to recommend you for a position” when calling a new hire and then start a new hire paperwork
Network with other principals
Hiring a new person, you need to network with other principals who can recommend people
Create in the district a special email where principals can send recommended people’s resumes to pull from
Create in the district a special email where principals can send recommended people’s resumes to pull from
Include teachers in the process
Include teachers in the hiring process. Tell teachers that they will be the ones working with that person so if something goes wrong it is on them. Teachers and principal works together at the same time to decide.
Sub or a new hire?
It is better to have a long term sub than making a quick decision in hiring
Good and Bad answers to the interview questions:
* Bad Answers:
- Implying personal convenience
- Not answering the question asked, discussing everything else
- Giving a long answer (more than 4 minutes; practice with a mirror)
WHY DO YOU WANT TO WORK HERE?
- GOOD – I believe in what you do (research the ISD and give concrete examples) and I want to help.
- BAD – I live close, my kid goes here, I want more money
PERSONAL BACKGROUND – include information they can’t legally ask you AND connect your background to the position you are trying to get – you must understand what the interview committee wants to know from this question
Include some humor but tie it into the interview
Failure to mentally promote yourself. You must think as a principal applying for the principal’s job.
Failure to mention current literature. If you don’t read, you can’t lead
Look the people in the eye
WHAT WOULD BE ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE IN YOUR SCHOOL?
Assistant principle’s job – discipline, student supervision, leave class, support the principal
Principal – instructional leadership
BAD – cafeteria schedule, how busses come in - answered from the perspective of the AP
GOOD – think in educational leadership – not one thing, I did a walkthrough, TEKS were not on a grade level, went back a few more times, to make sure, I found a school that was doing the best practice, took the team to see how they did it there in that class, spent the rest of the day planning and then our score rose up, we INCREASED INSTRUCTION
1. How would you maintain high expectations while keeping the failure rate low?
a) Encourage teachers to backload their lessons. Provide training for this if necessary. b) Set up accountability schedule for teachers to communicate with parents on a regular basis (Skyward/Infinite Campus, websites, My Big Campus, phone calls, etc.)
c) Have all teachers establish tutorial schedules.
d) Implement mentoring program for teachers to mentor "bubble" students
e) Foster healthy, safe, and supportive learning environment through extracurricular activities, parent nights, and community involvement
2. What do you consider to be effective instruction?
a) Ensure lessons have been calibrated according to content, context, and cognitive levels
b) Lessons should be "framed" by objective and finished product. Provide training for teachers on framing the lesson. (Ex: Objective – Students are to explain the controlling idea and author’s purpose for an expository text; Product – Students will produce a foldable after reading “The Most Dangerous Game” that shows the controlling idea, author’s purpose, and text evidence that provides supporting details to verify author’ s purpose
c) Teachers use perceptual modes throughout instruction.
d) Teachers constantly monitor student progress by moving freely about the classroom.
e) Students dialogue using academic language to discuss objectives of lesson.
f) Teachers follow district curriculum guide.
g) Students are engaged in learning.
h) Technology is used frequently in the classroom.
i) Provide for collaboration among departments/teams
3. What does effective discipline look like?
a) Consistently follow a discipline plan that is established on the campus
b) Discipline must be firm, fair, consistent, and immediate
c) Maintain privacy and confidentiality with students (FERPA)
d) Document accurately
e) Communicate with parents
f) Discuss ways to improve behavior
g) Encourage positive reinforcement
h) Provide training for teachers if necessary
4. How would you determine priority line item in a budget?
a) Assess need of budget line item based on Action Plan (research)
b) Determine if item aligns with campus needs & campus improvement plan
c) Discuss with finance committee to help make decision
5. How do you encourage excellence in your teachers?
a) Positive reinforcement – notice the good things and give praise!
b) Professional development
c) Have “rock star” teachers on your staff train other teachers
d) Encourage opportunities for leadership among staff
e) Book studies
f) Allow for collaboration among grade levels/departments/teams
g) Allow opportunities for teachers to observe other teachers on campus for fresh ideas
BUDGET QUESTION:
I would start with the last year’s budget. I need to know whether any of the budget will roll over from last year. Do you have a finance committee on campus or is it only the job of the principal? As soon as I am named a principal – I need to get a copy of the last year budget, get the campus improvement plan and align it with the budget
- Last years budget
- Reconcile it, what we spent and did not spend
- Do you have any rollover money
- How are we spending out title money if any
- Who pays for subs
- I need a copy of the next years campus and district improvement plan
- So I can insure that next year’s budget is aligned to both
- Implying personal convenience
- Not answering the question asked, discussing everything else
- Giving a long answer (more than 4 minutes; practice with a mirror)
WHY DO YOU WANT TO WORK HERE?
- GOOD – I believe in what you do (research the ISD and give concrete examples) and I want to help.
- BAD – I live close, my kid goes here, I want more money
PERSONAL BACKGROUND – include information they can’t legally ask you AND connect your background to the position you are trying to get – you must understand what the interview committee wants to know from this question
Include some humor but tie it into the interview
Failure to mentally promote yourself. You must think as a principal applying for the principal’s job.
Failure to mention current literature. If you don’t read, you can’t lead
Look the people in the eye
WHAT WOULD BE ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE IN YOUR SCHOOL?
Assistant principle’s job – discipline, student supervision, leave class, support the principal
Principal – instructional leadership
BAD – cafeteria schedule, how busses come in - answered from the perspective of the AP
GOOD – think in educational leadership – not one thing, I did a walkthrough, TEKS were not on a grade level, went back a few more times, to make sure, I found a school that was doing the best practice, took the team to see how they did it there in that class, spent the rest of the day planning and then our score rose up, we INCREASED INSTRUCTION
1. How would you maintain high expectations while keeping the failure rate low?
a) Encourage teachers to backload their lessons. Provide training for this if necessary. b) Set up accountability schedule for teachers to communicate with parents on a regular basis (Skyward/Infinite Campus, websites, My Big Campus, phone calls, etc.)
c) Have all teachers establish tutorial schedules.
d) Implement mentoring program for teachers to mentor "bubble" students
e) Foster healthy, safe, and supportive learning environment through extracurricular activities, parent nights, and community involvement
2. What do you consider to be effective instruction?
a) Ensure lessons have been calibrated according to content, context, and cognitive levels
b) Lessons should be "framed" by objective and finished product. Provide training for teachers on framing the lesson. (Ex: Objective – Students are to explain the controlling idea and author’s purpose for an expository text; Product – Students will produce a foldable after reading “The Most Dangerous Game” that shows the controlling idea, author’s purpose, and text evidence that provides supporting details to verify author’ s purpose
c) Teachers use perceptual modes throughout instruction.
d) Teachers constantly monitor student progress by moving freely about the classroom.
e) Students dialogue using academic language to discuss objectives of lesson.
f) Teachers follow district curriculum guide.
g) Students are engaged in learning.
h) Technology is used frequently in the classroom.
i) Provide for collaboration among departments/teams
3. What does effective discipline look like?
a) Consistently follow a discipline plan that is established on the campus
b) Discipline must be firm, fair, consistent, and immediate
c) Maintain privacy and confidentiality with students (FERPA)
d) Document accurately
e) Communicate with parents
f) Discuss ways to improve behavior
g) Encourage positive reinforcement
h) Provide training for teachers if necessary
4. How would you determine priority line item in a budget?
a) Assess need of budget line item based on Action Plan (research)
b) Determine if item aligns with campus needs & campus improvement plan
c) Discuss with finance committee to help make decision
5. How do you encourage excellence in your teachers?
a) Positive reinforcement – notice the good things and give praise!
b) Professional development
c) Have “rock star” teachers on your staff train other teachers
d) Encourage opportunities for leadership among staff
e) Book studies
f) Allow for collaboration among grade levels/departments/teams
g) Allow opportunities for teachers to observe other teachers on campus for fresh ideas
BUDGET QUESTION:
I would start with the last year’s budget. I need to know whether any of the budget will roll over from last year. Do you have a finance committee on campus or is it only the job of the principal? As soon as I am named a principal – I need to get a copy of the last year budget, get the campus improvement plan and align it with the budget
- Last years budget
- Reconcile it, what we spent and did not spend
- Do you have any rollover money
- How are we spending out title money if any
- Who pays for subs
- I need a copy of the next years campus and district improvement plan
- So I can insure that next year’s budget is aligned to both
Questions to ask the interviewers:
- I want the job. I want to make sure I represented myself the way I wanted to. I just want to ask if there was a question I did not answer full to your satisfaction, would you give me the chance to respond again?
- What are the areas of your immediate concern and what can I come and immediately do to help?
- Budget – Brand New Principal’s questions to ask:
Which expenses can the campus allocated funds cover?
Is there any roll over?
What do you do until the budget clears?
Tell me about how subs are handled in this district?
Show me last year’s budget
- What are the areas of your immediate concern and what can I come and immediately do to help?
- Budget – Brand New Principal’s questions to ask:
Which expenses can the campus allocated funds cover?
Is there any roll over?
What do you do until the budget clears?
Tell me about how subs are handled in this district?
Show me last year’s budget