So What Do You Do All Summer?

Many people are often surprised when they find out I have little time off over the summer, usually taking just a week in July and a few scattered days elsewhere. I guess they can't imagine what a principal does when there are so few staff and students in the building.

Ironically, activity over the past few days is some of the most important work we do all year. Tim Bearden (North principal) and I, along with a committee of teachers, have interviewed ten teaching candidates over the past two days. In this particular case, we are looking for an English teacher for North H.S. and a science teacher that will travel between the two buildings.

We don't take this process lightly. I've often called it a $2 million investment, because a teacher might average $60K per year and will usually teach more than 30 years.

The process includes an initial paper screening of the large pool of applicants, a first round of interviews to reduce the list even more, and a second round of interviews of those we believe best fit the vacancy. In some cases, there will be a third round of interviews prior to the final recommendation. Then our candidate is sent over to central office for a final interview and subsequent job offer prior to official action by the Board of Education.

Fortunately for us, there are many applicants for the vacancies that arise in Grosse Pointe. For the recent English vacancy, there were almost 150 candidates that applied. Mr. Bearden conducted a first interview with 27 of them, and the larger committee interviewed nine of those candidates. From there, the list was pared down to a select few candidates for a third round of interviews.

Placing a highly qualified and enthusiastic teacher in front of the classroom is the best start we can give our students. From there is takes proper mentoring, collegiality and support from others in the department, and effective evaluation to insure continued success. We are hopeful that with our newly acquired high school teachers we have taken the first big step.