Recruiting, Interviewing & Hiring Teacher Residents

BY  DR. HOLLEE RAYE FREEMAN

Urban Teacher Residency programs have become viable pathways for people  interested in pursuing teaching by using alternative routes to certification rather than the more typical university, semester-based practicum model. Urban Teacher Residency programs recruit and select a diverse group of individuals who may be recent college graduates, community leaders and/or career changers. In addition, Urban Teacher Residency programs actively seek linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse teachers to work alongside students in urban schools.

The attractiveness of urban teacher residency programs can be clearly seen in the proliferation of applications to these programs, particularly by teachers of color, second language learners, and people interested in filling other high-needs teaching areas such as math, science, Special Education and English as a Second Language. The attraction of these programs may be due to the opportunity to work with students at the elbow of a talented teacher for 1 to 2 years, for most urban teacher residency programs, in cohorts while they receive and practice the theoretical skills learned in graduate classes and the classrooms in which they are placed.  This tight coupling of classroom and graduate coursework, allows teacher residents to begin working with students quickly as they analyze and refine their teaching skills.  In addition to the support given during the training year, participants receive induction support as well so that they can continue to refine their practice for  the ability to increase student learning.

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Recruitment

Roughly one half of the teachers who begin to teach in urban public schools leave within the first three years. Urban teacher residency programs, however, experience retention rates of upwards of 85 percent in urban public schools, even past the first three years of service. One reason may be found in the recruitment and selection process which characterizes most urban teacher residency programs. Recruiters establish relationships with colleges/universities, community centers, churches and educational networks. They have a keen eye and ear for people . committed. to issues of equity in education, social justice and high expectations for themselves and for the students they would like to teach. Recruiters in urban teacher residency programs spend a significant amount of time getting to know these potential applicants and are interested in pursuing those people .who see their role as being part of a long-term solution to the educational disparity that exists in the U.S.

The recruitment process is year-round with peak times in November/December for early admissions, where applicable, and in March-April. Simultaneously, however, the recruitment process also involves incubating potential program candidates, sometimes over the course of several years in order to ensure that the fit is right for the potential candidate and the urban teacher residency program in which each person  is interested. Establishing these relationships positions the act of recruiting teachers from a “one-size fits all” process and toward a process where recruiters actively learn more about the strengths and interests of potential candidates in order to support them in showcasing their talent, providing opportunities for them to get to know the program and allowing potential candidates to determine the pathway and the purpose with which they would like to enter the teaching profession.

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Selection

Selection into urban teacher residency programs is quite competitive (often between 10 and 20 percent  of the candidates who apply to urban teacher residency programs are accepted) and requires significant content knowledge expertise (math, science, etc) from the applicant. In addition, applicants must possess the following:

• an entrepreneurial and efficacious spirit,
• a record of persistence in the face of challenges and obstacles
• demonstrated leadership abilities
• an ability to reflect on their learning involving racial/cultural/linguistic complexities that exist in society.

To assess these skills and dispositions, many urban teacher residency programs have a selection process that entails in-depth interviews with program and school staff (sometimes including students) which focus on gathering more information from the candidate around their experiences in these areas. Responses are examined by program staff.

In addition, the selection process typically involves participation in a group problem-solving activity that closely mirrors the complex scenarios that are typical of teachers’ daily work (e.g. planning meetings, discussions about students, relationship with families and school leaders). Writing and math assessments,  sometimes with students, often complete the selection process.

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Hiring

During the one practicum experience, ranging from one to two years, program participants engage in a variety of teaching experiences through the gradual assumption of co-teaching responsibilities with a mentor teacher(s), as well as participation in school-wide initiatives and events.  Participants must  continuously reflect on how they leverage their content knowledge in the service of student learning while demonstrating their dispositions and skills around entrepreneurial and efficacious approaches to student achievement, working with families and colleagues. Toward the end of their practicum experience with the urban teacher residency, participants  engage in a hiring process that will again, allow them to reflect on their teacher-leadership experiences  in the classroom, the school, and the community.

The first step in the hiring process is to update your resume, citing key experiences and initiatives in which you were involved during your residency experience.  Pay attention to the:

• presentation format
• mechanics (spelling and grammar)
• organization
• content

You should include a cover letter should explain why you want to work in the district in which you are applying and provide evidence of your passion, commitment, and motivation to ensure that students learn at high levels.

The next step is to prepare for an interview. Be prepared to discuss the alignment of mission/vision of the school in which you are interviewing (found on most district websites) with your own philosophy of education. Also, you should be prepared to highlight a few scenarios from your teaching experience where you demonstrated the skills and dispositions mentioned earlier. As a reflective practioner, you should be ready to talk about strategies that worked well in terms of increasing student achievement (with examples) and those in which you need to refine. Principals understand the importance of using a cycle of inquiry in teaching: collecting and analyzing data to inform teaching practice and then repeating the cycle. Think critically about your own cycles of inquiry and discuss your ideas, hunches and next steps with the interview committee.

By being attentive to each part of the recruitment, application, selection, and hiring process and continually reassessing their alignment with your values, skills, and dispositions, you will be an important contributor to the lives of students and their families.

When thinking about applying to an urban teacher residency program, .do these several things. before you apply. Spend the time gathering information on urban teacher residency programs  to ascertain whether this is an appropriate pathway for you. (http://www.utrunited.org) . Secondly, think carefully about the following questions:

• Do you uphold the vision of the program and its commitment to educating students in urban schools at all costs?
• Do you have significant content knowledge in the area in which you would like to teach?
• Do you write and communicate well?. .
• Do you have. the long-term teaching expectations of the urban teacher residency program?
• Do you. work with humility as a part of a larger cohort of teacher residents and mentors who will support your work during the year?
• Do you. meet the demands of working in classrooms with mentor teachers, while simultaneously excelling in graduate course work.

In addition, think about how you will convey your experience and commitment to issues of social justice and student achievement. It may be helpful to reflect on your  experiences in leadership positions at your college/university, in your professional career and/or your work in communities. You should be prepared to share those experiences by highlighting the successes and challenges of  that work.  Thirdly, you must be able to talk about and demonstrate your commitment to working in urban areas. Do you speak multiple languages or have experiences working in diverse settings? Perhaps you worked abroad. Those experiences should be a part of your application to the urban residency program. Highlight what you learned about the people with whom you worked and what you learned about yourself as a result of the experience.

In addition, think about the following questions:

• What excites you about working in an urban environment?
• What challenges do you foresee and how do you anticipate meeting those challenges?
• What kind of support do you anticipate needing?
• What resources and ideas would you bring to  teaching in an urban school?