Hiring for Our Future

This is shaping up to be one of the busiest hiring seasons for licensed staff we have had in more than a decade. As of the writing of this article, we've hired six licensed staff positions and have three openings remaining. Granted, of these nine, three represent new staff due to increasing enrollment. Even so, six of them (representing approximately 8% of our teaching staff) are positions that are being vacated for a variety of reasons. Whenever we have turnover it is imperative that we look inward and ask hard questions. Attracting teachers is one thing. Retaining them for the long run is entirely different. Naively, when we hire teachers I believe they are going to stay in Hudson for their entire career! Yet when I look back at our employment census over the last decade, I run across those who were here for a year or two before departing for other opportunities. In some of those earlier hires it is becoming somewhat difficult to put a name with a face!

We have worked very hard over the last handful of years to create climate and culture where our educators feel valued and respected. A place where they can earn a salary that recognizes their unique talents, educational level, and skill set. Hopefully they see in Hudson not only a great place to work, but a safe place to raise a family. But it is a bit discouraging when I see the number of vacancies that have piled up so far this spring. I suppose the bright spot is that, for the most part these vacancies have more to do with personal decisions than they do with an overall dissatisfaction with our district as an employer. It is my firm belief this hiring season is merely a confluence of coincidences.

While we may be able to take a bit of comfort in that regard, it doesn't erase the monumental task that has been placed on our hiring agents to fill these incredibly important vacancies. That is in part one of the reasons why we try to get a jump-start on hiring. The great candidates won't be around for very long! Furthermore, our hiring practices include making both tactical and strategic decisions. We are lucky insofar as our stronger financial position enables us to hedge a bit when making tactical hiring decisions. Keep in mind our financial position is directly linked to outperforming our enrollment projections. Because of this growth, hiring decisions are critically linked to maintaining educational quality and student-teacher ratios. It becomes much more difficult when enrollment is static or declining. With static or declining enrollment, tactical decisions are oftentimes not possible because the SSA growth factor isn't even enough to meet current employment contract obligations. The byproduct of which is delayed hiring decisions and larger class sizes. 

Increased student numbers necessitate additional staff, from teachers and support personnel to administrative roles. Case in point: we have 200 more students in our district today than we did in 2010, which was the last time we employed a middle level principal. At the same time, our incoming kindergarten class currently projects 68 students. One that could be staffed with 3 teachers, but tactically it makes sense to staff it with 4 teachers because we simply don't know how many 'move ins' we'll have over the next 6 months and financially we can afford it. You can be assured though, that if that particular grade level maintains an enrollment in the mid to upper 60s it will be converted to a 3 section grade level at some point in their continuum of education. 

Our hiring practice isn't simply about filling immediate vacancies; it requires strategic forecasting to anticipate future enrollment trends. This is one of the reasons why we have contracted with an outside firm to help us understand our enrollment patterns and develop sound projections. By analyzing historical patterns juxtaposed with statistically accurate projections, it provides for a proactive approach that ensures we can accommodate a growing student population without putting undo financial stress on the system or compromising the learning environment. For the last handful of years, we have budgeted for another English teacher at the high school without filling that position. The need has just 'not quite' been there yet. This year, because of some internal requests for transfer based on credentials we had available, we were able to move forward with adding this position. However, the reality was/is that we could probably get by staffing it as a half-time position. But to be honest, in this labor market there is very little interest in part-time employment. So we needed to think strategically. In order to be able to recruit (and hopefully retain) quality staff, we've added a course to the English department and created an additional section of another. While not yet a full time position, this strategy will ensure that our school not only meets its present day obligations but also builds a strong foundation for future success.