If your district is undergoing a strategic design and restructuring phase, one of the most important things for you to examine is that of your teacher job descriptions. Of course, there are a lot of layers involved as an organization looks into transforming itself. One of the key components in doing so will definitely be designing job descriptions to not only attract the best teacher candidates, but those that will help guide these teachers in their everyday careers.
Creating or finding job descriptions might seem like an easy task at first, but it requires much thought and careful consideration. For one, it should be known that not all districts look the same and neither do the schools that fall under them either. Even each year, the neighborhood makeup can change and this would variate throughout any area. Every campus has a specific need and in order to cater to those needs, districts should be strategic with how they write out expectations and job descriptions. There are several ways to go about doing this.
1. Look at the Current Job Descriptions in Place
Some of the job descriptions could be ones that were created during the time the organization was established. That could be five years ago; it could be fifty years ago. With that said, there is definitely a need to assess whether or not those needs within the job description are relevant to today's needs. For instance, the job description might read that a teacher isn't required to have a bilingual endorsement. However, your district's neighborhoods and demographics could have changed significantly in the last five to seven years, requiring a higher need for bilingual endorsed educators. Thus, looking at what is already written is a good start towards making adjustments to fit modern day student needs.
2. Observe Classrooms and School Sites
There always seems to be some type of disconnect between a district office and the schools it services. In order to help bridge that gap, send some people to observe and interview teachers and staff at the different school sites. You might even have staff members shadow people during their work to see what their day-to-day looks like. From here, you can have a more clear understanding of what the school needs and how you might write that into the job description. This might be something observed such as having a really high need for a STEM program at a school. The students are scoring high in math and science test scores and as a district, you want to support them by bringing on a full-time STEM teacher. So, you'd be able to design a job description that would attract a skilled STEM teacher to come onto this campus and help these students excel in their craft.
3. Research National Trends and Teacher Preparation Programs in Your Community
All around the country, there are a lot of great schools doing a lot of really great things. Why not learn from them and see how you might bring that success to your school district? Districts that are performing very well compared to national averages are obviously doing something right. It's okay to want to replicate some of their systems and ideas behind hiring great teachers because it is working well and you want to bring that achievement back to your own district, of course. A teacher preparation program for the Public Education Department for New Mexico requires that all new teachers be partnered with a mentor teacher for their first year in the field. This teacher is one that is assigned at their site they're working in. Your school district might value this plan as one that is vital to a new teacher's professional development and believe that you would want to write this into the job description.
4. Hire a Staff That Knows How to Design an Effective Job Description
You can have all of the ingredients for the best recipe but without a great preparer or cook, it can be a recipe for disaster. Well-educated and experienced human resource specialists can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your recruitment programs. Make sure that the people you have going to schools to observe, the ones researching national programs and the ones who look over current systems have the tools and capacity to help you move towards a stronger redesign. Even if your district is pressed for a budget, you shouldn't overlook talented specialists who can help you recruit the most effective teachers and retain them; in turn, this can save you even more money down the road.
5. Don't Be Afraid to Use Categories Within the Description
Gone are the days of traditional job description writing where everything is listed in bullet points. It can become very tedious for a candidate to sift through all the different points that just look like they were thrown in there. Instead, break up the items into separate categories to show that much more thought was put into designing and valuing the position. You can create sections such as classroom responsibilities, professional responsibilities and more. Having each category can make it much more accessible to candidates and they will know that you took the time to be purposeful with your planning.
6. Use Action Words to Begin Each Item
Just as teachers are asked to include action words within their resume characteristics, organizations looking to hire should practice what they preach. Action words help candidates identify exactly what they should be skilled in and what is expected of their job duties. Words such as Facilitate, Support and Uphold are great to use as actionable points. These have much more direct guidance for candidates and are very job-specific.
When times comes for developing and/or designing the best job descriptions to recruit an effective teaching candidate, districts must be patient with evaluating and researching characteristics that fit their needs. There should be a recruitment or talent team devoted simply to not only creating these descriptions, but are working diligently to find candidates to fit those roles. Also, the well-designed job descriptions will also serve as expectation points for these recruits so that they have a clear understanding of their roles. As you begin to roll out your new descriptions, you will not be surprised to see that the quality of candidates that walk through your door will be much more qualified, ready and what you need for the betterment of the classroom.