Objective: To show you strategies in four specific areas that you can begin to use today to: 1.Get your whole team on the same page 2. Energize your teachers

Objective:

To show you strategies in four specific areas that you can begin to use today to:1.Get your whole team on the same page 2. Energize your teachers3. Engage your students.

Tucson Country Day SchoolWho are we?

• Non-profit K-8 school with a private preschool and pre-kindergarten

• Charter school since 2000• Students come from all over Tucson – many from the east

and southeast areas of town• Student body: 390 boys, 332 girls• Students: 80% anglo, 15% hispanic, 5% other• No Title 1 dollars, no info about economic status of our

families • K-5: four classes at each grade level; 6-8: three classes at

each grade level• Excelling status for the last three years

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Challenges We Face…

• We want to hire outstanding teachers and get it right the first time

• We want to know what our teachers/staff are really thinking so we can better understand them and meet their needs

• We want to develop our teachers’ skills• We want to know our students and use what

we know to teach them more effectively

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Hiring Teachers the Old WayProcess, Tools, Methodologies

Our old process for hiring teachers:Screen resumes, conduct a 30-minute 6-person panel interview with typical questions, make an offer.

Tools: Two-page document with 11 questions that scores each applicant on a scale of 1 to 10 for each answer.

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Hiring Teachers:Sample of our old questions

1. Tell us about your education and experience.2. Please choose a subject and outline your

process for teaching a lesson in this subject from the beginning of planning to the end of the lesson.

3. What is the role of parents in their children’s learning? How do you communicate with parents and encourage their involvement?

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Hiring Teachers the New WayProcess, Tools, Methodologies

• Questions are based on the Microsoft teacher competencies (we will discuss…)

• The process is based on the Microsoft interviewing practices

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Our new process for hiring teachers:

Round 1: Screen resumes

Round 2: Conduct a 30-minute 6-person panel interview with new questions; discuss candidates, choose candidates to move to Round 3. Usually requires unanimous vote. Panel consists of administrators, teachers, parents.

Round 3: Participate in an all day interview process – one-on-one interviews with seven administrators, teachers, staff, parents – each interviewee focuses on one teacher competency

Teach a 30 minute lesson to a real class

Round 4: Convene first panel and all one-on-one interviewers to discuss candidates, make recommendations. Unanimous vote required?

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Tools:

Two-page document with 9 questions that scores each applicant on a scale of 1 to 10 for each answer.

Lots of discussion

Observation of teaching, interaction during panel and one-on-one interviews

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Hiring Teachers:Sample of our NEW questions

• Please describe a period of time in which you were fully applying your knowledge and skills and were performing at your highest level. What was the situation? Describe your performance or accomplishments and how you achieved them.

• Often, we learn from successfully facing challenges or experiencing mistakes or failures. Please share a time when this was the case for you. What did you learn from the experience? How did you apply what you learned, and what was the result?

• Tell us about a time when you created a work environment in which people wanted to do their best. How did you create that climate? What was the result?

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Hiring Teachers:Using our NEW questions

• We learn a lot more about our candidates

• We hear concrete examples of what they have done, can do and believe

• The questions are not canned and neither are the answers

• We make our candidates THINK!

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So far, we love the new process

• About to enter Round 3 – one-on-one interviews, teaching demonstration

• Suggestion: Seek volunteers for candidates to teach to…

• Here’s our email:Subject: Volunteers Needed

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Here’s our request for volunteersEmail subject line: Volunteers Needed

Hey Folks –

We need your help.

As you may know, a team of TCDS folks have spent two busy days interviewing candidates to fill the few teaching positions that we know will be open next school year. [Yes, a few people have told us they will be leaving at the end of this year to move on to other exciting adventures.]

We believe it is important to actually see a person teach before we invite them to join our team. To this end, we are looking for volunteers who are willing to give up 30 to 45 minutes of class time on Monday, May 3rd and/or Tuesday, May 4th. If you volunteer, we will schedule one of the candidates to teach a grade level approrpriate lesson to your class.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance.

Your Administrative Team

More than half of our teachers volunteered their classroom.

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Hiring Teachers the New WayChallenges

• The process is time consuming– It takes time and thought to carefully screen resumes, we often call

references before we ever interview a person– It takes time to write your questions– Panel participants must give up significant time to participate

• The process can be cumbersome– Lots of scheduling– Lots of time off– Lots of discussion

But if it works, it is well worth the time and effort!

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Knowing what our teachers, staff, students and parents are thinking

• Ask!• Conduct surveys – for everything, anything – As part of strategic planning - Surveyed school board,

adminstrators, teachers, staff using a modified version of the AZ Charter School Association strategic planning survey

– To create staff development – Surveyed teachers about what they want to learn, specific knowledge levels – six traits of writing, when to hold staff development

– To get input – budget issues/benefits affecting teachers– To understand what is needed – library needs survey– To get feedback from parents – parent satisfaction

(see survey examples on web page)14


• Listen– Team meetings– Build consensus

• Flexible• Always do what’s best for kids• Team mentality

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• Keeps us on the same page, moving in the same direction

• About to repeat last year’s strategic planning survey – we’ll see how far we’ve come in the eyes of our teachers and staff

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Challenges• Time consuming– Must create surveys– Must evaluate responses– Slows you down at times while you’re getting

feedback

• Not always what you want to hear• At times, need to be thick skinned

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Develop/Strengthen Teacher Skill

• Regular staff development• Ask teachers/staff what they want/need to

learn• Most effective?– Staff development offered by our teachers to our

teachers– Recent training on how to get students to get

engaged and take ownership of their own success, taught by Andrew Collins, Charter Association

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Develop/Strengthen Teacher Skills

• Microsoft Education Competencieshttp://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/

39 Education competencies -

“The Education Competencies represent many of the attributes, behaviors, areas of knowledge, skills, and abilities required for successful job performance. Each Education Competency includes a definition, four levels of proficiency, sample interview questions, activities and resources to develop skills, and examples of overdoing the competency.”

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• Competencies focus on the following areas:

– Individual Excellence– Courage– Operating Skills– Strategic Skills– Organizational Skills– Results

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Develop/Strengthen Teacher Skills“Not all competencies are relevant for every job. Certain roles require an emphasis on specific competencies. For each of the following positions, a profile has been developed that identifies the critical competencies required for success in this position. Use these profiles when considering potential candidates and when conducting interviews.”

Specific Competencies for:

SuperintendentPrincipalHigh School TeacherPrimary and Middle School teacher

Find them here:http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/successprofilesoverview.mspx

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Develop/Strengthen Teacher Skills• We LOVE the competencies!• Great for discussion with teachers – one on one,

grade level teams, multi-grade level teams• Brainstorming to come up with ideas based on

competencies• Give specific actions for teachers to take to

strengthen skill levels• Focus on own accomplishments – what you can

do to be even better• Personal development

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Develop/Strengthen Teacher SkillsExample: Elementary and Middle School Teacher

Competency: Motivating Others

“Creates a climate in which people want to do their best; can assess each person’s strengths and use them to get the best out of him or her; promotes confidence and optimistic attitudes; is someone people like working for and with.”

Covers: Proficiency level, Overdoing motivating others, Essential questions, Interview questions, Learning on the job, Recommended reading, Next steps

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For every competency, you’ll find:

• Rubric to evaluate proficiency level for each competency

• Examples of overdoing the competency• Questions to ask about your level of competence• Interview questions (we used some!)• Things to do on the job to strengthen

competence level• Recommended reading


• We put all 13 elementary and middle school competencies into a document for our staff to use.

• It’s posted for you to review.

http://www.tcdcharterschool.com/conference

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• Another time consuming activity– Need to train teachers/staff on how to use the

competencies– Need to have means for monitoring progress

• Teachers may feel threatened– Expose weaknesses

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Using Data to Know Your Students• Data is good

• Not the end all and be all but it’s very helpful and eye-opening

• Lots of data:– AIMS data– Benchmarking data– Formative and summative assessments– Assignments– Observations

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Knowing Your Students

• Use data to see how well students are learning• Use data to know what students have mastered

and what needs more focus• Use data to identify individual students strengths

and weaknesses• Use data to see discrepancies among classrooms• Use data to assist teacher with tiered lesson

plans, individualized instruction, differentiation

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Knowing Your StudentsChallenges

• Data can be frightening – do not use it in a threatening manner

• Use data as one of many tools• Help teachers to understand what the data

means• Help teachers to see how data can help them

to help their students• It takes time…

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Find all of the items we referenced

http://www.tcdcharterschool.com/conference

- Our interview questions- Survey tool- Sample surveys- Condensed version of the teacher

competencies

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Documents

Objective: To show you strategies in four specific areas that you can begin to use today to: 1.Get your whole team on the same page 2. Energize your teachers