Last year, when The Connor Group Kids & Community Partners set out to find teachers for the upcoming launch of its school, the plan was simple. Recruit and hire the best teachers in the country.
Now, after putting in place the correct people and processes, The Greater Dayton School has an ever-growing staff of talented, committed and mission-driven founding teachers. It’s a group that, when the campus opens in the fall of 2022, will make history by staffing Ohio’s first private non-religious school exclusively for under-resourced students.
“I was blown away by the quality of people we were bringing in for these positions,” Larry said. “Five out of the first six people who made it to me in the interview process were people I’d undoubtedly hire. It just proves that no matter the position, our recruiting processes and philosophies work.”
Considering we had never hired teachers before, we had to tweak our processes a bit. Working with partner Roger Lipson, we created a new strength indicator test to sort for candidates who exhibited evidence-based traits observed in the most successful urban teachers.
Recruiter Brett Reasoner has sourced and networked candidates and worked with Greater Dayton School principal A.J. Stich to interview and assess them. A.J. also conducted virtual career fairs. After passing the SI, candidates typically have three more interviews, teach a lesson and receive feedback and experience a day in the field before receiving an offer.
“We’re doing things that virtually no other schools are doing,” A.J. said. “Most schools just hire. We’re actively recruiting – and not just locally, but regionally and nationally. And we’re not settling for anything but the best.”
As a result, we’ve hired seven teachers to date. Among them are …
- A principal for one of the top-performing charter school networks in the country.
- An instructional coach for one of Indiana’s top charter schools.
- A full-time teacher who also is a part-time masters-level instructor at the University of Notre Dame.
- Multiple Teach for America alums, including one who was a national debate champion and one who studied at the famed Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in New York.
- Two teachers with overseas teaching experience.
Teachers we hire will not join us full-time until the summer of 2022. They’ll stay connected with us next school year by taking part in regular professional development sessions and administering a tutoring program in Dayton’s under-resourced communities.