Strategic Hiring-In Search of the Unicorn

In Jim Collins' book, 'Good to Great' he talks about this concept of getting the wrong people off the bus and the right people on the bus. Then, once we have the right talent on board, we have to ensure they are in the right positions where they can provide the most value. That seems like a great place to start our conversation today because, you see not all teachers are interchangeable insofar as to what seat they sit on the bus. Some teaches have specialized credentials, meaning they are only licensed to teach within a narrow content area. Others may be limited to specific grade bands. 

For the most part, those who teach elementary school are considered generalists. This means someone who is an elementary teacher can be employed as a kindergarten teacher or a sixth grade teacher and anything in between. Granted, someone who has experience or desire to teach sixth grade isn't likely to aspire to kindergarten (or vice versa), but the credential remains the same. This type of teacher provides a great deal of flexibility, particularly when dealing with bubble classes. For example, one year you may need three sections of one grade level, and the next year you may need four. In these instances, a teacher can float up or down without any license restrictions. At this level (and at the secondary level for that matter), they are unable to teach art, music, physical education, or reading as a stand-a-lone course, because those also take a very specific license. 

Because of this, hiring at the elementary level typically attracts a larger pool. There is much more elasticity when it comes to placement, and we have greater odds to ensure that we have the 'right people in the right seats'. Now, I certainly don't want to diminish the thoughtful and deliberate work that Mrs. Betts and her team have put into hiring over the last handful of years, but it has been relatively straightforward. Sure, it takes a lot of time, consensus building, and just plain hard work! But things get a bit more complicated once the hiring shifts to seventh grade. 

That's because we are no longer hiring generalists. Now, we are hiring content specialists. You see, a seventh grade teacher can't just teach eighth grade writ large. Once we get to the secondary level, teachers are credentialed by content area. In other words, a 7th grade teacher is licensed in a content area; let's say math. This means they are licensed to teach any math class from grades seven through twelve. Furthermore, when considering science and social studies it becomes a bit more fragmented. Just because a teacher is licensed to teach biology does not mean they can also teach physics-unless they have an additional endorsement. 

This is where hiring practices become a bit more strategic. When looking for content area specialists, we cast as wide of a net as possible. Science teachers who are endorsed in 'all sciences'. Social studies with the same 'all social sciences' endorsement. Even when hiring some of the 'upper elementary' teachers we look for those with a broad range of endorsements in math, science, social studies, and the all important reading. This is because, not only can they teach in the general education setting, if they have a specific content endorsement, we can fill their day teaching that content. The trouble of course is these endorsements must be earned, they aren't just giving them away. And endorsements cost money, money that young people in search of a Bachelor's Degree don't always have. It makes the candidate pool smaller, and when those with multiple endorsements are discovered we call that 'finding the unicorn'-while not like the mythical creature, it is very rare-and incredibly valuable. Once we find that rare unicorn, the decision may be whether or not it makes sense to hire that person early knowing that, while we don't necessarily need someone with those endorsements right now, two or three years down the road we will. For reference we talked about the concept of Looking Around the Corner a few weeks back when it comes to financial decisions for the district, which is undoubtedly used to shape our long term strategy. It helps us to inform our ability to make those long term strategy decisions. 

Complicating the matter a bit further is the organizational structure of the instructional schedule and how our building(s) are utilized. 

Instructionally, our day is organized into eight periods. Teachers at the secondary level (7-12) typically have a class load that fills of seven of those eight periods with instruction, with the eighth period designated as a 'prep' period. This period is for exactly what it states: to prepare for instruction. It may include planning lessons, responding to email, collaborating with colleagues, or meeting with the principal. The challenge becomes obvious once our first four section grade level enters the seventh grade. At that point, we will need four sections of seventh grade and three sections of eighth grade. With our current staffing model, we should be able to make that work. It will require us to 'shave off' a few study hall options but staffing it should work. The follow on year: 2030-2031 is when we start to have some issues. Minor issues, but issues nonetheless. This is when the ability to staff our 'exploratory schedule' and some electives at the high school begin to be impacted. We will begin to notice that we are short one section in one content area. Each succeeding year out to the 2034-2035 school year it compounds. The trouble being that no one is looking for a job teaching one section of math. Or one section of social studies. And on and on. The solution? The elusive unicorn. 

If the primary issue is staffing the program, then the secondary issue is building utilization. Indeed this puzzle has two parts. While unlocking the paradox of the unicorn, we also need to determine where these teachers (and students) are going to live. This take a great deal of thought to map out a coherent strategy. Our building utilization models need to run out to 2034-2035. The class of 2035 is currently in third grade. This would represent a scenario where the district could potentially be considered a four section district in grades K-12. Will they all fit? Our current analysis suggest...maybe. Truthfully we need to take our time to arrive at the answer. Luckily we have ample runway with which to make this decision!

As our deliberations evolve insofar as building utilization is concerned we'll work on the primary problem: chasing the unicorn. 

Staffing for the Future

Compared to many of our colleagues around the state, Hudson is in somewhat of a unique situation. Where many of our neighbors are experiencing drops in enrollment, that does not appear to be the case here. Granted, while our residential or certified enrollment count is down a smidge, the overall headcount is up just enough to overcome the residential decrease. Admittedly, we had anticipated a larger increase in our enrollment this year. Even so, the trend continues to point in an upward direction and our projections suggest increases for the 2026-2027 school year. 

Enrollment is mostly growing from the 'bottom up', starting with the kindergarten class in the 2022-2023 school year when we added a fourth section to that grade level. Tactically, each succeeding year we have simply added a section as that grade level has matriculated, while the grade levels below them have continued to be sustained and staffed with four sections. We are now preparing for that grade level to move to the fourth grade next year, and again planning to add the accompanying section. A lot of what we have done to this point have been tactical decisions, in other words short term specific actions that provide the most flexibility.

At the same time, we are considering long term strategic planning. Think about this. Adding a section a year based on enrollment numbers at a particular grade level is a pretty straightforward decision. If you have 70+ students in an elementary grade level, it can either be staffed with three sections in low to mid twenties, or four sections of 17/18. Tactically, we have elected to go with 4 sections with the understanding that if the numbers are 'on the bubble' and the budget doesn't support those sections, we can simply forego making that hiring decision. If that happens over the course of a couple of years, perhaps it may become necessary to scale the faculty back by a position. Tactical. The trouble with tactical decision making is that unforeseen issues can kind of sneak up on you. For example, were you aware that our enrollment has increased over 120 students since 2021? That's an almost 14% increase! And, as I mentioned that trend appears to continue rising. Sure, it may slow but up is still up. 

That's why we have been engaged in strategic planning for well over a year now. Thinking about staffing needs long term and what positions, both for direct instruction and support may be needed down the road. Or, what structures need to be in place now to support this growth in enrollment? When we hire teachers for our classrooms, there needs to be a solid foundational system that supports them now, and is nimble and flexible enough to support future growth. Case in point: we hired a middle school principal this year. It was evident the number of students and teachers being served by current building administrators was not manageable. Furthermore, as staff continue to be added and those students matriculate to middle school they need a champion in their corner.

But that is not the only strategic decision that we will make, or even need to contemplate in the coming months and years. You see, as our enrollment growth continues it will require much more than a section at a grade level. Those are needs that you can see with your own eyes. It is also about the number of staff we have in the music department. The special education program. Art department. Counseling. Whenever I am blessed with the opportunity to visit with employees one on one, I ask the question: what do you need? Their answer in one form or another is usually: help. 

Therein lies the challenge. Hiring an additional teacher can be accomplished without too much pain fiscally. Particularly when you have 80 students and are trying to determine whether or not you want class sizes of 20 or 27. This task becomes much more complicated when the math isn't quite so quantifiable. Compound it further when you must determine whether or not space limitations are part of the calculus (they are in our case).

Then, there is the reality of funding for Iowa Schools. Now, that really isn't the point of today's column, but when the rate in which per pupil funding grows in Iowa doesn't even keep up with the cost of inflation it only exacerbates the underlying issues. Even with static enrollment, costs are going to continue to rise. If employees aren't going to see wage increases that are competitive they will leave. A hard to fill position like some of the supporting roles mentioned above will practically guarantee turnover at a rate that makes the ability to sustain and grow some of these programs all but impossible. 

With that, we'll stop for today. Next week we'll dive a bit deeper into the strategy. Answers may be elusive, but the first step is identifying the problem and the barriers while considering the strategic decisions that are being contemplated.