One local school district is having a tough time filling Houston teaching jobs.
After cutting several teaching positions and grappling with typical turnover rates in the education industry, the Houston Independent School District is having a hard time in its efforts to hire the best teachers and education staff from across the country.
During June, the district laid off 162 teachers from nine campuses as part of Superintendent Terry Grier’s Apollo 20 reform plan, and another 80 teachers left schools on their own accord. The district now has the task of filling these vacancies, as well as about 1,000 openings the school system faces each year.
Under the Apollo 20 reform plan, the school district is encouraged to recruit more principals from outside the system instead of always promoting from within HISD, according to an article by the Houston Chronicle.
Anyone applying for a teaching job is required to teach a sample lesson in person or by video, and elementary and middle school teaching applicants without a certification in a specific subject must pass a fifth-grade level math test.
The school district also has adopted a new standardized interview process. So far, HISD has received more than 5,000 applications for open teaching positions, but only about 600 of those candidates are actually qualified for the job.
As part of the interview process, applicants must complete a multiple-choice questionnaire that focuses on their core values, and candidates who pass this process must then undergo a 20 to 30 minute in-person or video interview.
Next year, HISD plans to rely more on Teach for America in order to find recruits. The district recently approved a $1.7 million deal with TFA for up to 250 teachers. The selective program recruits recent college graduates who are willing to commit to working for two years in some of the country’s neediest schools.
Teaching for America plans to recruit and train about 50 teachers with strong math and science backgrounds to work in schools targeted by the Apollo 20 program. It will cost about $20,000 per teacher, or a total of $1 million, which does not include salaries.
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