STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL: Urban Districts Can Recruit Talent

1. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENTOF HUMAN CAPITAL:Urban Districts Can Recruit Talent Allan Odden, Co-Director of SMHC

2. SMHC Project • Goal: Dramatically improve student performance, focusing initially on urban districts: • Meaning to double student performance and reduce achievement gap as measured by state or local tests • For example, increase percent at or above proficient from 40 to 80 percent, or increase percent at advanced levels from 30 to 60 percent, or get all averages and sub-group scores above the 90 percent level

3. SMHC Project • Our focus for accomplishing the goal: Strategic Management of Human Capital (SMHC) • SMHC includes Two Basic Strategies: • Recruiting and retaining top teacher, principal and central office talent, which are key to tackling the complex educational challenges of big, urban districts – we argue this can be done • Managing that talent around the instructional expertise to make every teacher effective – produce large student learning gains

4. The State of Urban Districts • Dysfunctional HR systems: • Paper and pencil systems; late and inaccurate salary checks; large numbers of teacher shortages; larger shortages in math, science, special education; lack of sufficient teacher quality, especially in high-needs schools • Lack of strategic recruitment strategies; open school each fall with hundreds of vacancies • Result: • Low levels of student achievement, large achievement gaps, disjointed educational improvement strategies • Couldn’t produce student performance results in part because did not have people to do the job

5. Key SMHC Case Findings • Big Finding #1: Urban districts can recruit top quality teachers and principals by deploying a multi-faceted human resource strategy • Teacher shortages, lack of adequate talent, and school vacancies are not part of the “DNA” of urban school systems • It results from lack of attention to active recruiting

6. Former Passive Approach to Recruiting • A decade ago, Boston, Chicago and NYC did little recruiting • Many people nevertheless applied, but • Applicants did not come from the best pipelines • Applications were not reviewed until August when the bulk of good talent had already accepted job offers • Not enough applicants left to staff schools fully • School years began with teacher shortages; teacher quality problems; and insufficient math, science, special education and other teachers • DC: 2500 applicants for 250 positions in 2006

7. If you recruit, talent will come … • Active recruitment can identify top talent who will apply and accept job offers in urban districts • Colleges and Universities • Chicago began recruiting at Northwestern, Univ. Illinois, Univ. Michigan, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, etc. and other colleges within 500 miles (within a day’s drive of Chicago) • New college graduates who decide to teach after earning a bachelor’s degree • Chicago’s goal: 20% of new vacancies • Early career changers, many with math majors – from law firms, Wall street, management consulting, other high wage/high pressure jobs • Mid-career changers – the military, industry, etc. • “Grow your own” programs – teachers and principals • Scores of talented people wanting to teach in urban schools • When a recruitment hand is offered & a pipeline is provided, these individuals can be channeled into urban schools

8. Partnerships with New Talent Pipelines • Teach For America • In 29 (23 urban) areas today; goal is to be in 48 areas by 2015 • The New Teacher Project • Partners with many districts all over the country and now working regionally in some metro areas • New Leaders for New Schools • Academy for Urban School Leadership • Troops to Teachers • “National” organizations with a focused mission to recruit, train for initial license and place in an urban, high poverty school

9. New Partnerships with Universities • Urban teacher & principal residency programs • Principal training: Chicago/TFA/Harvard • National Louis University in Chicago • Chicago seeking to have more say in and structure of student teaching • Close linkages in Long Beach and Cal State Long Beach – Long Beach staff “teach” both teacher and principal practicum courses • Not rosy on all university fronts – sometimes universities do not respond positively

10. Multiple Complementary Strategies • Summer exposure programs • Job fairs have been very successful in Chicago • Candidates even get bussed to schools where they might teach • Let schools/principals make teacher selection • Train principals on importance of early recruiting • Many postpone recruiting until the summer when most good candidates have taken other positions

11. Multiple Complementary Strategies • Automate the application and screening process • Selection screeners – Haberman, Gallup, etc. • Reduce time from initial application to communication with candidates – 60 to 2 days • Make job offers quickly to “special” candidates • Male elementary teachers; math, science majors; minority candidates, etc. • Cost out each step of the application process • Computer screening is much cheaper than phone interviews (which is cheaper than on site interviews)

12. Move Up Budget and Hiring Calendar • Estimate school budgets and teacher vacancies in January and February • This allows recruitment processes to begin matching teacher applications with school needs • Have principals/schools begin interviewing in March and April • Attempt to fill all positions by May

13. Modify Seniority Bumping • Work with union to change seniority bumping • Allow senior teachers to apply first for all vacancies, subject to school selection • The hiring calendar needs to be moved up – begin this in March • Eliminate automatic seniority bumping from school to school, even for untenured teachers

14. Improve the “Getting On Board” Process • Have a gathering at the opening of the school year for all new teachers/principals • Get everyone on the pay system • Get everyone signed up for benefits • Provide everyone a “buddy” or mentor • Provide upfront training in district processes as well as instructional practice • Provide ongoing seminars or professional development

15. Actively Recruit Principals Too • Principal “awareness” seminars on “what it’s like to be a principal” • Principal residency programs, New Leaders for New Schools, Academy for Urban School Leadership, etc. • Limit principal selection to candidates who have gone through district training program • Central screening of principals even if school makes final selection • Sometimes leadership recruitment is directly linked to teacher recruitment: Chicago/TFA/Harvard

16. Challenges • Can recruit top talent but it is hard to identify who will become an effective teacher • Private sector research finds predicting worker effectiveness is difficult without work samples • Points to importance of induction, mentoring, professional development and tenure • Same for principals – it is hard to predict who will be effective even in many new programs

17. Final Take Away Message • Urban districts can open school every fall with talented teachers in each classroom and talented principals in each school • Beginning steps to this goal: • Conduct a talent audit for teachers, principals and central office HR staff • What are current pipelines, do they provide top talent, where are shortages of numbers and quality, what are future teacher and principal needs, etc. • Create a strategic plan for talent acquisition • Implement a comprehensive, multi-faceted plan • Evaluate all talent pipelines – which lines produce?