This year I’ve been intimately involved with the hiring process. With two of our veteran (and funny, and quirkily snarky, and supremely excellent) teachers retiring and our department head moving on to bigger and better things, there have been a number of math openings to fill. I’ve now seen a lot of demo lessons, had lots of conversations over lunch about teachers, and read a fair share of resumes, recommendations, and personal statements.

In addition, there has been a reorganization of the Upper School administration, and we’re switching from two academic/social/disciplinary deans (one for 9th and 10th grade; one or 11th and 12th grade) and four grade level deans (that deal with attendance, keeping advisers on the same page, and lead the big grade level project) to four “everything” deans and one new “assistant head of the upper school” (assistant principal). These deans travel with the grade (so they work with the same kids each year) and deal with anything and everything regarding the students.

A consequence of this transition is the search for these “everything” deans and the assistant head position.

And I’m on the search committee for these candidates too.

So I’ve been really involved with watching demo lessons, asking interview questions, and evaluating. Because these hires affect me significantly.

Things I’ve learned, observations I’ve had, advice I can give… But this seems very specific to my school, or similar independent schools…

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