Finding David

Since I’ve been in leadership positions, I’ve learned that there are four ways you can get lucky when it comes to staffing your school.

One is connections:

• You hear from colleagues about good teachers.
• You wait (timing is everything – you learned this working in personnel).
• You phone your staffing consultant, tell him you need a teacher and ask if you can interview so and so.
• Five minutes into the interview you know you want the person and you are antsy as hell waiting for your assistant principal to finish asking his questions so you can offer K the job.

Another is seeing in action:

• You have watched the person when they have been supply teaching in your school.
• You wait (timing is everything – you learned this working in personnel).
• You call your staffing consultant as ask if you can please have M for the maternity leave position that must be filled now.

Yet another is interviewing:

• You call your staffing consultant and ask for candidates.
• You interview the individual and after a few minutes you send him packing when he tells you he doesn’t think he would want to teach at your school because he couldn’t further his career doing so with the kind of kids you have (yes, this is a poor part of the city, but we love our students and know how wonderful they are).
• You call your staffing consultant again, give him a report on the interview, and ask for another applicant.
• You interview and are more than pleased to offer G the job.

And then there is the “given” category:

• You get a call from the superintendent’s office telling you that you can’t advertise the position because they have someone for you.
• You stifle a massive groan and hold your head in your hands as an instant migraine develops and wonder what you could possibly have done to upset the superintendent (You worked in personnel—you  know how these “givens” work).
• You get a call from the giving principal telling you about the individual.
• You know better than to trust this particular giver so you make some calls of your own.

Within a few minutes of meeting the individual and a few days of working with him, you know that someone up there loves you because you now have David, who will prove to be an absolute gem as your new assistant principal.