One Schoolhouse

  • STUDENT COURSES
    • School Information
    • Student Information
    • Parent & Guardian Information
    • Summer Courses
    • Register
  • ACADEMIC LEADERS
    • Association for Academic Leaders
    • Join the Association
    • Open Doors Blog
  • CONSORTIUM
    • Join the Consortium
    • Our Schools
  • COURSE LOGIN
  • STUDENT COURSES
    • School Information
    • Student Information
    • Parent & Guardian Information
    • Summer Courses
    • Register
  • ACADEMIC LEADERS
    • Association for Academic Leaders
    • Join the Association
    • Open Doors Blog
  • CONSORTIUM
    • Join the Consortium
    • Our Schools
  • COURSE LOGIN

Hiring In A Pandemic

1/26/2021

1 Comment

 
PictureCorinne Dedini
I love the look of dismay when I tell people that I’ve never met most of our teachers in person, which is something that I usually reveal after just having told them that our faculty is outstanding.  How do we hire highly competent, values-aligned professionals when we can’t interview in-person?  Here’s the secret sauce:  

Be unapologetic about who you are and what you need teachers to be able to do.  You need to hire teachers who align with your values and, perhaps more importantly, want to grow in the areas where you want to grow.  For example, in our job posting we link to our pedagogy whitepaper, say explicitly that the student-teacher relationship is the cornerstone of learning at One Schoolhouse, and describe how we work on tight deadlines. We go on to say, “If time management or building relationships are not your strengths, then this is not the job for you.”  Candidates self-select into our pool who can meet our expectations because we don’t conceal anything about the logistics, values, or requirements of the job. 

Create opportunities for candidates to display the skills and behaviors you are looking for.  We don’t select our interviewees based solely on their resume, cover letter, and recruiter printout.  We ask candidates to perform tasks that demonstrate the essential competencies of One Schoolhouse employees.  To continue the simple example above, as an online school we need our employees to read and respond promptly to what is asked of them in email.  So, part of our application requires that they send specific documents to our Director of Studies as the final step in completing the application, and part of the interview requires that they meet live on video chat under specific conditions -- strong internet connection, professional demeanor and background, etc....  Candidates who don’t follow the instructions don’t continue to the next step in the process.  We don’t take for granted how important responsiveness is for online teachers, so we test it in various ways as explicit aspects of the interview.  Philosophical alignment isn’t enough to do the job. 

Design an interview process online.  Our candidates participate in three “rounds” of an interview in our LMS over the course of three weeks.  This is our opportunity to clarify our school’s values and practices, show people who we are through intentionally designed modules, and to give candidates the chance to interact with us (and with each other, which produces compelling results!).  In a face-to-face school, this is the equivalent of the day where the prospective teacher walks the halls, evaluates the climate of the community, and gives a sample lesson.  All these things can happen online through a finely tuned experience in the LMS.  

Use a hiring rubric. As independent schools work to increase diversity amongst their faculty, a hiring rubric is essential to reducing bias.  The hiring committee at One Schoolhouse is engaging in a candidate norming exercise this week, where we vet sample candidates against our rubric, then compare our results.  For years I hired for “fit” but as our values have expanded into the realm of inclusive innovation, the methods to living those values demand far more intentional practices.  

Without campus visits, this is the year to assess your hiring practices and take advantage of resources such as our Hiring During a Pandemic online course, hiring-specific Academic Leaders Webinars and blogs. This may just be your best hiring year yet.  

1 Comment
Brenda Cram link
1/28/2021 11:31:44 am

I am wondering if you would share your hiring rubric with me to give me a place to start?
Thanks for considering, Brenda

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Don't miss our weekly blog posts by joining our newsletter mailing list below:

    Authors

    Brad Rathgeber (he/him/his)
    CEO & Head of School
    Beta Eaton (she/her/hers)
    Director of Student Support
    Corinne Dedini (she/her/hers)
    Senior Director,  Academics
    Elizabeth Katz (she/her/hers)
    Senior Director, School Partnership
    Kerry Smith (she/her/hers)
    Instructional Designer for Professional Development
    Peter Gow (he/him/his)
    Independent Curriculum Resource Director
    Sarah Hanawald (she/her/hers)
    Senior Director, PD & New Programs
    Sienna Brancato (she/her/hers)
    Program Manager for PD & New Programs
    Tracie Yorke (she/her/hers)
    Instructional Designer for Equity, Inclusive Innovation & Accessibility
    ​Lorri Palko (she/her/hers)
    Finance & Operations Advisor; CFO (retired)
    Karen Douse (she/her/hers)
    Director of School & Student Support (retired)

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    July 2011
    June 2002

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Organization

About
Welcome
​History
FAQs
​Calendar
​
Team Members
Board of Trustees
Employment Opportunities
© COPYRIGHT 2020, ONE SCHOOLHOUSE, INC.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Policies

Tuition & Policies
Equity and Inclusion & Non-Discrimination Policy
Technology Requirements & Policies
​Privacy Policy

School Resources

Advanced Independent Curriculum
​Partner Professional Learning Courses

Get In Touch

Have any questions?
Send us an email or give us a call.
info@oneschoolhouse.org
202.618.3637

​1701 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036


We'd love to hear from you!​