LEADER Initiative

1. LEADER Initiative Recruiting, Hiring and Placement Work Plan

2. Agenda • Introduction • Current State • Baseline data • Roles • Timeline • Recruiting activities • Hiring practices • Results • Best Practice Examples • NCEA Framework • Other research • 3-Year Work Plan • Benchmark goals • Evaluation • Budget

3. Recruitment, Hiring and Placement Work Plan Development • Team • Orla O’Keeffe, Jeannie Pon, Bob Polkinghorn, Sandy Lam, Karin Little • Process • Reviewing research • Interviews with Ken Sorey and team members • Broad Network • Research Sources • NCEA Framework and Case Studies • Improved Principal Hiring, The New Teacher Project • A License to Lead, Frederick Hess • Leadership Development in California, Linda Darling-Hammond and Stelios Orphanos • Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game, Public Agenda • Principals of Change, NASBE

4. Leader Initiative Components • Performance Management • Professional Development • Induction • Placement • Hiring • Recruiting • Preparation Competencies

5. Current State: Baseline Data • Demographics • 91% of current SFUSD students are non-white, Only 44% of administrators are non-white • 8% AA • 21% Chinese • 10% Latino • Recruiting • There is a national shortage of principals – not necessarily true in SF • By 2011, 35% or 74 of SFUSD’s current site-based administrators will have reached retirement age (62 years old). • No funds are invested in principal recruiting • IRFs have become an informal pipeline to the principalship • The turnover of principals in our low-performing schools is twice that of the turnover in our high-performing schools • Hiring and Placement • The process for hiring principals is not based on a standard set of criteria or competencies

6. San Francisco HR Plays a supporting role Posts job openings Screens for min requirements SOIS Paper screen Central Office interviews Identify candidates for school site interviews Facilitate school site interviews UASF Paper screen Central Office interviews School Communities School site interviews Superintendent Makes hiring recommendations to the Board Board of Education Approves contracts Other District Processes Philadelphia HR plays a supporting role but was heavily involved in defining competencies CAO has final word on placing principals Chicago Has an office of Principal Preparation and Development that does most of the work HR plays a transactional role Ultimate hiring decision is made by the local school council. Current State: Roles

7. Current State: Timeline • December 2006 – jobs posted on EdJoin • Application Deadlines • Round 1: January 31 • Round 2: February 28 • March 15 – “May or May Not” contract renewal notification drives opening projection • Central Office Interviews • February 20, 22 • March 6, 15 • April 11 • May 7 • School Site Interviews • April 21 • May 19 • June 2 • June 7 – the majority of new placements made

8. 2006-2007 Media – district website, EdWeek and Ed Cal advertisements, EdJoin Conferences – CABE and California League of Middle Schools Partnerships with PLI LEAD intern program 2007-2008 Changes Less activity than prior year Current State: Recruiting Activities

9. 2006-2007 Minimum qualifications screening Administrative credential and passage of CBEST Paper screening by SOIS and UASF Scored based on letter of interest, resume, reference letters, and other skills Central office interviews – all candidates must go through this process except existing administrators Focus on general knowledge, skills and leadership abilities Competencies include: leadership, oral communication, management, public school administration, instructional techniques, community/pr, and program planning Site-specific interviews – conducted by school community, parents, teachers and SOIS. Central office & school community developed questions. Superintendent and SOIS review recommendations from site interviews and make assignments 2007-2008 Changes Modified the paper screening rubric to align with competencies Central office interviews Written response to a question about subject (e.g. data discipline, classroom management) Individual interview with SOIS and UASF Group activity (e.g. five or six candidates are asked a targeted question about a school case study and their interactions are observed by Asst. Supts.) Current State: Hiring Practices

10. Current State: Results

11. Best Practice Examples: NCEA Framework • NCEA Best Practices Framework: • Theme: Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building. • Practice: • Provide strong instructional leaders • Attributes: • The principal selection process incorporates a performance-based component to examine a candidate’s ability to perform as an instructional leader. • A clear process identifies and develops internal candidates for instructional leadership positions.

12. Best Practice Examples: Recruiting • Timeline • Improve vacancy notification and administrative inefficiencies 1 • Compensation / Incentives • Scholarships to preparation programs 2 • More recognition for a tough job 3 • Job descriptions • Include competencies (Philadelphia, PA) • Includes time spent observing classrooms (National City, CA) • Focused on curriculum knowledge and instructional leadership (Belleville, IL) • Building pipeline • Tap on the shoulder • Reaching out to non-profits, faculty members, leadership academy grades, etc. for recommendations (NYC) • Formalizing the “tap on the shoulder” 4 • Attracting high quality teacher candidates • Focus on high quality teachers must be achieved in order to have quality principals 4 • Teacher leadership development is a focus (Richardson, TX) • All internal candidates required to attend leadership academies • Aldine, TX • Boston, MA – Boston Principal Fellows • Have a program for external candidates (Boston, MA – the Leadership Institute) • Partner with the business community to conduct leadership training (Norfolk, VA) 1 The New Teacher Project 3 Public Agenda 2 Linda Darling-Hammond 4 NASBE

13. Best Practice Example: Timeline From The New Teacher Project’s report, “Improved Principal Hiring” includes a goal of hiring principals by March 1 • Improve vacancy notifications • Identify vacancies by January 15 • Eliminate disincentives for early notification of retirement/resignation • Monitor principals eligible for retirement • Open communication with principals about their future plans • Eliminate administrative inefficiencies • Utilize technology to optimize efficiency in tracking applicants • Build in accountability to meet timeline benchmarks • Provide excellent customer service to principal candidates – including clear communication about their status

14. Best Practice Example: Compensation / Incentives Public Agenda Study • Principals rate “improving the pay and prestige of administrators” as the most effective way of improving leadership in schools

15. Best Practice Examples: Hiring & Selection • Competency based (Philadelphia, PA) 1 • Based on proven performance • Job descriptions and hiring criteria should judge candidates based on demonstrating mastery in specific competencies 2 • Olympia, WA • Interview designed to simulate a “day in the life” of a principal (NLNS) 3 • Superintendent and Asst. Superintendents are heavily involved (Long Beach) • Use a Bloom’s rubric (Aldine, TX) • Rely on references who evaluate based on competencies • Boston, MA • Cypress, TX 1 Interview with Tim Fields, Broad Resident 2 Frederick Hess 3 Initiative visits and discussions with NLNS

16. Best Practice Example: Competency Based Selection, Philadelphia, PA • Philadelphia partnered with Microsoft and Lominger to develop competencies for all education staff. • These competencies drove how they developed hiring and selection criteria • Process: • Team involved: 10 people involved • Unions • Academics & PD • HR • Steps taken • Agreed on competencies for selection and development in partnership with Lominger. • Developed rubric to define basic, intermediate, expert, and advanced for each competency. • Developed success profiles (describing what the person does in that role) for four main areas: • Regional superintendent • Principal • Teacher K-8 • Teacher High School • Developed interview questions based on competencies and proficiency levels. • Lominger trained the interviewers on behavioral style interviewing • Interview process • In-basket experiment – how they manage time • Interview – 2 rounds • Written assignment • Video of teacher – provide feedback (from the Santa Cruz New Teacher Project)

17. Best Practice Example: Competency Based Selection, Philadelphia, PA

18. Best Practice Example: Bloom’s Rubric Aldine, TX • Beginning Level (0 points) = Knowledge (I did, I tried, I watched) • Developing Level (1/2 point) = Comprehension / Application (I modified, I used) • Accomplished (1/2 point) = Analysis / Synthesis (I created, I integrated, I involved others) • Exemplary (1 point) = Evaluation (I concluded, What I learned, I improved, My students were successful because…)

19. Best Practice Example: Reference Form Boston, MA • References must evaluate candidates on the competencies in the reference form

20. 3-Year Work Plan: Contingencies • Roles and responsibilities must be defined for recruiting, hiring and placement activities • Staff hired to support leadership initiative must allocate 25% of their time to focus on recruitment, hiring and placement • Investment in recruitment must increase • Teacher leadership development should be a focus to build the pipeline

21. Year 1 Publish an annual recruitment calendar Establish hiring projections and recruiting targets for diversity Implement early retirement notification incentive Align all recruiting activities and messages with competencies Develop recruiting materials Rewrite job descriptions aligned with competencies with a focus on instruction and student outcomes Develop a formal process for identifying potential leaders (“tap on the shoulder”) Work with partners to develop a process to attract preparation participants Develop a principal prep program that all candidates and aspiring principals must attend. Develop a process to stay in touch with candidates from year to year Revisit Asst. Supt role to determine amount of time allocated to succession planning Year 2 Assistant Supts to spend X% of time on succession planning Revisit compensation including incentives Implement the process for identifying leaders Provide scholarships to preparation programs Design and develop a career pathway for principals 3-Year Work Plan: Recruiting Year 3 • Assistant Supts to spend Y% of time on succession planning • Asst. Supt. working directly with principals to identify and recruit future leaders.

22. Year 1 Fully implement a competency based screening process Explore the possibility of all candidates participating in a rigorous, day-long interview with simulations Conduct training for interviewers to utilize the competency rubric Incorporate competencies in reference letter template Year 2 Implement new interview format 3-Year Work Plan: Hiring Year 3 • Continue to improve process based on feedback from previous year

23. Year 1 Establish a unified vision around principal placement Outline assignment considerations Prioritize “cultural competency” in the placement process Create a strategic plan for principal assignment Year 2 Conduct a needs assessment at each school Asst. Supts. to spend X% of their time on succession planning Explore a policy to rotate principals 3-Year Work Plan: Placement Year 3 • Asst. Supts. to spend Y% of their time on succession planning • Implement rotation policy

24. 3-Year Work Plan: Benchmark Goals • Ratio of applicants to positions increases by X • % of internal candidates increases by X • Diversity of applicants • X% increase in the number of AA, Latino and Chinese principals • Quality of applicants • Number of candidates meeting minimum requirements increases by X% • % of applicants with X score and above on interview increases • % of applicants went through X type of program • Candidate surveys reveal that they felt the process was clear and they had a good sense of the vision and experience of being a leader in SFUSD.

25. 3-Year Work Plan: Evaluation • Monthly Dashboard • Tracks applicants through pipeline • Circulated to relevant stakeholders • Annual Recruiting Report • Includes summary from dashboard and candidate and new hire survey data • Influence on other leader components • 100% of principals are highly skilled, culturally-competent, instructional leaders • Retention rates • Candidates are counseled out that are not meeting competencies • Decrease in candidates moving from school to school

26. 3-Year Work Plan: Budget Note: Does not include existing investment