Transforming Recruiting at DC Public Schools

1. Transforming Recruiting at DC Public Schools Harvard Business School & Kennedy School of Government Suzanne Anthony, Sarah Dillard, Kyle Goss, Jevan Soo Presentation Document February 21, 2009

2. Executive summary • There are multiple opportunities for DCPS across the recruiting value chain • Finding and attracting experienced teachers is high challenge, high reward • Long-term success will come from assembling proprietary access to talent • DCPS must re-orient its recruiting culture toward relationship building and performance management • The pace of success is contingent on the capabilities of the recruiting staff

3. Agenda • Assessment of current issues • Recommendations • Next steps for implementation

4. DCPS is grappling with numerous issues in the teacher quality value chain Budgeting: Resources not allocated until enrollment and vacancies become official Recruitment: Generally passive and low- touch recruitment outreach Hiring/ placement: Allows best talent to avoid highest need schools Evaluation: No clear and set definition for teacher effectiveness Training: Inadequate preparation for challenging classroom environments Selection: Pre-screening moved from in-person interviews to mostly online Leadership: Highly variable principal quality, lack of support Compensation: Current union contract based on seniority; no performance incentives Lack of alignment along teacher quality value chain SOURCE: The New Teacher Project, ELCC case materials 3

5. DCPS recruiting function can improve in several key areas Hiring quality teachers Talent identification Talent attraction Selection Placement Cultivation Key questions • Who are the profiles we want? • Where can we find them? • What drives their choice of employer? • How should we brand ourselves? • What are the traits we seek? • How do we assess them? • How do we balance matching • Our need • Their choice • How do we make them feel special? • Who can best ‘seal the deal’? Best practice examples

6. Teachers in • Surrounding districts • Other urban districts • DC charter schools • DC private schools 220* 3,000** 1,000*** 200** • Not easy to identify strong performers • Hard to attract those from outside of DC metro area Experienced teachers • Career-switchers • Undergraduates 110 55 • DC Teaching Fellows • Teach For America • Rising above 40% cap politically challenging Alternative certification Individual talent segments have strong potential but specific challenges FY08 total Potential pool Target population Challenges • Education schools • Regional (e.g., DC, VA, MD) • Top 10 national (e.g., Harvard, Columbia) • Undergraduate (e.g., UTEACH) 71* 600*** 1,300*** 650 • Extremely high competition • Hard to attract those from outside of DC metro area Campus programs * Assumes 50% of 18-29 age teachers from campus programs, 50% experienced; 100% of 30+ age teachers experienced ** Top quartile of total teacher population; 25% of surrounding district teachers assumed to be in under-performing schools *** Top decile of population; Philadelphia example for other urban districts SOURCE: ELCC Case Materials

7. Agenda • Assessment of current issues • Recommendations • Next steps for implementation

8. DCPS must communicate its unique value proposition • Key messages • Short-term • “Class is still in session” (strategy unaffected by economic downturn, in contrast to other districts) • Tap into national movement for change and public service • Long-term • High expectations, high rewards, high support for DCPS teachers • We will help you find just the right opportunity • Channels • Paid media (print and online) • DC-area publications (e.g., Washington Post, Washingtonian school issue, DC Metro, Education section of NYTimes for DC market) • Education Week • Job websites (e.g., Careerbuilder, Teacher-Teacher) Earned media • Interviews, speeches, appearances by Michelle Rhee • Interviews, speeches, appearances by Jason Kamras

9. DC local referrals Launch referral program among current DCPS teachers* TFA alumni Partner with TFA to contact alumni in DC metro area Other urban districts / surrounding districts Try to identify top teachers through publicly available performance data/recognition • DC STAR strategy gives access to talent who are otherwise hard to identify • This is a long-term strategy in seeding future recruiting • CRM (customer relationship management) software likely required Targeting existing DC STAR • (Spectacular Teachers Achieve Results) • Externally funded, application-only, annual conference targeting high performing urban teachers from around the DC metro area • Celebrate exceptional teachers (e.g., held at Four Seasons, significant others invited to attend closing dinner) • Share best practices, build networks among results-driven peers • Poll teachers to determine best “carrots” to maximize applications • Application data forms future DCPS recruiting pool of top talent Creating new Attracting experienced teachers will require both targeting existing and creating new talent pools * Monetary incentives contingent on new teacher contract

10. Campus approach should focus on building earlier and deeper relationships Earlier Deeper • Establish campus presence in fall (e.g., panel event) • Launch summer undergraduate internship for rising seniors in certification programs • Poll newly hired teachers in fall to nominate high-potentialstudents on campus • Strengthen working relationship with career services, e.g., • Feedback on brand • Understanding about DCPS differentiation • Partner with regional/local universities to add practitioner perspective to programs

11. 0 Improving selection process is critical to ensuring quality of hires Selection more critical under new contract because applications should spike Incremental validity over General Mental Ability* Percent Work sample tests Structured interviewing • Central district recruiting team • Design assessment rubric based on new DC instructional framework • Re-institute structured screening interviews with multiple techniques (e.g., sample instruction, role-play, discussion of teaching philosophy) Job knowledge tests Peer ratings Reference checks Unstructured interviewing Job experience (years) • Principals and school staff/teachers • Train to do structured interviewing based on newly designed rubric Years of education Interests Age * Data from meta-analysis of over 85 years of selection research. Incremental validity defined as the percentage increase in predictive accuracy provided by the technique over and above a test of general mental ability (which has a validity of 51%) SOURCE: Schmidt & Hunter: The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 85 Years of Research Findings

12. Assignment • To optimize long-term success, should best talent always start in toughest schools? • Are there non-monetary incentives to guide talent to under-performing schools (e.g., 1-year sabbatical for every four years of effective teaching)? • Timeline • How much earlier can the transfer process be moved? • Can early district-wide offers be extended to prospects before transfer deadline? • Could a second, earlier, invite-only hiring fair be launched in April or May? • Clustering • Are there ‘tipping point’ effects by concentrating talent at a few under-performing schools rather than distributing across wider group? • If so, could new contract allow for • Placing incoming top talent side-by-side with current star teachers? • Team-based hiring and placement into under-performing schools? There are key questions to resolve around the placement of candidates

13. Acceptance of offer Identification Application Selection Placement Direct recruiter contact (emails and/or phone calls) to 200 high-potential applicants: “Greetings from the DC public schools! We are very impressed with your credentials, and would like to invite you to apply” Personalized emails for top 100 offerees sent from Chancellor Rhee’s email account: “Congratulations on your recent offer! I am excited about the possibility of you joining us…” Applicant perception of DCPS also heavily influenced by experience during evaluative stages of recruiting process Short follow-up calls to those who respond with interest by Kamras, star teachers with similar backgrounds or interests, principals at schools that could be a match Centrally distributed cultivation checklist for principals with suggested steps and timing (principals are free to personalize or adjust based on specific offeree) Increase cultivation of high-potential (HP) applicants and offerees

14. DCPS recruiting should shift to a long-term performance culture • Institute performance targets and tracking of key metrics • Compile metrics into scorecards for district, school, and teacher type Internal metrics • Feedback surveys for all applicants on recruiting process • Detailed entry interviews about recruiting experience • ‘Post-mortem’ interviews with offerees who turn DCPS down Performance culture ‘Customer’ feedback External benchmarking • Performance comparison to other organizations where possible • Competitive intelligence on other districts/schools’ recruiting approaches

15. 30 60% 83% 45% PRINCIPAL SATISFACTION WITH COHORT Example recruiting scorecard: FY10 hires BY DISTRICT, SCHOOL, OR TEACHER TYPE PROCESS MANAGEMENT Applicants Interviews Offers Hires 2,000 900 750 450 Average time lapse 2 weeks 1 week 3 weeks % HP 10% 22% 25% 33% TEACHER QUALITY Average SAT score 1050 Better than last year 20 Average cert. years of experience 3 Same as last year 70 Average undergraduate GPA 3.15 Worse than last year Average praxis score (IQR) 50 - 80 10 DIVERSITY PROFILE FY09 HP PERFORMANCE IN FIRST YEAR Asian Excellent Other 10 Hispanic 20 Good 7 Female 80% Male 20% 2 Black 31 Average 60 60 White Weak 10

16. Shift towards site-based PD • Institute non-monetary rewards (e.g., career ladder) • Improve teacher perception of and satisfaction with PD • Stronger and popular PD will reinforce marketing messages Professional development • Link long-term teacher licensing to classroom performance • Rebuild DCPS IT infrastructure • Improve email usage by teachers • Enhance training for principals • Launch new incentive-based approach within proposed contract • Link evaluation process to newly designed instruction framework • Selection criteria should be aligned with new evaluation • Removes low performers from system, increases hiring targets • System incorporates performance metrics and CRM needs • Communication channel to teachers • Principals better equipped to manage recruiting for schools • Better leaders at school level strengthen recruiting value proposition to teacher talent • Highly visible and differentiating example of performance culture in marketing messages Compensation Evaluation Data systems Leadership support Certification Recruiting should reflect and inform other human capital initiatives Initiative Relation to recruiting SOURCE: ELCC Case Materials

17. Agenda • Assessment of current issues • Recommendations • Next steps for implementation

18. Key implementation tasks for aspirational 2009 recruiting plan 2009 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Activity Feedback and approval of plan Staffing drives timing Talent identification and attraction • Create key marketing messages • Execute targeted media strategy • Develop and launch referral program • Develop pilot DC STAR conference • Launch summer undergrad internship • Cultivate key partner relationships Selection, placement, and cultivation • Find seasonal help to screen CVs • Develop structured screening criteria • Pilot structured assessment techniques • Experiment with placement innovations • Assign key personnel to HP offerees IT/Data analysis • Update and upgrade website • Select and implement CRM software • Create and begin tracking scorecard 17

19. Human capital organization needs to be aligned behind key activities Hiring quality teachers Talent identification Talent attraction Selection Placement Cultivation Staffing • Strategic partnerships managers • Hiring specialists (could be top PD helpers or retired star teachers) • Analyst, Kamras, Henderson • Kamras, Henderson, Rhee Responsibilities • Develop programs and relationships in order to dramatically increase awareness, familiarity, interest, and preference for DCPS as employer of talented teachers • Screen applicants and lead identification of HP talent • Explore potential innovations in teacher placement, e.g., team-based • Personally follow up with HP offerees in order to convince as many as possible to accept their offers Analyst: Performance metrics; forecasting; staffing model; general analytical support Communications: Craft key recruiting messages; develop media strategy IT: Selection, design, and implementation of customer relationship management software Webmaster: Basic fixes and upgrades Cross-cutting staffing 18

20. Discretionary budget needs are reasonable Staffing costs not Included but critical

21. “Finding the best teachers for our students” “Increasing competition for scarce talent” • DC City Council • Public/taxpayers • Parents/students • Teachers • Principals • Congress • National media • Education reform community • Education schools • Surrounding districts • DC charter and private schools “We’re mostly concerned about the contract” • Local and national unions Key stakeholders and potential reactions

22. Immediate next steps for Monday morning! • Seek feedback and approval from Rhee and key funders • Determine staffing needs for recruiting team • Assess existing team capabilities • Draft necessary job descriptions • Call consulting firm contacts to determine pro bono interest

23. Appendix 22

24. Referral program HIRE:employee reward of $500-$1000 NO HIRE:Notify employee and referred • EMPLOYEE: • Process initially limited to high-performing DCPS teachers and staff • Must provide contact information and personal statement about referred • Limited to 5 referrals per year • RECRUITING TEAM: • 2-week timeframe to follow-up with both referred and employee • Track referrals by employee and school Online submission SOURCE: The New Teacher Project 23

25. DCPS Teacher Summer Internship Program 24