Your Students Deserve the Best: 3 Steps to Hiring & Retaining Top Talent

We can never fall short when it comes to recruiting, hiring, maintaining and growing our workforce. It is the employees who make our organization’s success a reality

– Vern Dosch

INTRO

Finding and keeping great educators is one of the most important responsibilities school leaders face. It’s also one of the most complex. In a time when the demands of teaching are high and the educator pipeline is shifting, hiring well requires more than reviewing résumés and scheduling interviews—it takes intention, inclusion, and a clear sense of purpose. A collaborative, equity-centered hiring process helps build strong teams and supports student readiness from the very start.

OBJECTIVES

Build an inclusive, community-driven hiring process
Strengthen recruitment through early outreach and partnerships
Align hiring practices with student readiness goals

RESOURCES

Hiring and Retaining Top Talent Three Step Interview Download

In schools, success hinges not just on strategy, but on the people who bring it to life. The teachers, counselors, specialists, and support staff we hire are more than employees—they’re partners in shaping school culture and student outcomes. Strong hiring practices lay the foundation for a thriving learning environment where all students can grow and succeed—and that starts with a process that is both collaborative and inclusive. When hiring reflects the voices and needs of the whole school community, it sets the tone for shared leadership and long-term success.

Three Step Interview Process

Principal Conversation

As the school leader, your one-on-one time with the candidate is a chance to explore whether their values align with your school’s vision. It’s less about quizzing and more about listening—what drives them? How do they see their role in a school like yours? This conversation sets the tone and helps you gauge the candidate’s readiness to be part of your community.

Teacher Team Interview

Invite a small, diverse group of teachers to participate in the next round. This team can ask about instructional practices, collaboration styles, or how the candidate handles real-world scenarios. It’s also a chance for your current staff to consider how the person might fit into existing dynamics and where they could bring something new. Including teachers in the process fosters a culture of shared leadership from the start.

Teach a Lesson and Invite Student Feedback

Once you’ve narrowed down your candidates, ask them to lead a short lesson with a small group of students. This gives you a chance to see them in action—how they engage, adapt, and connect in real time. Afterward, invite students to share their impressions. What did they notice? How did the teacher make them feel? What stood out? Students offer honest, insightful feedback, and their voice adds depth to the hiring process. When candidates know they’ll be seen through students’ eyes, it shifts the dynamic—and signals just how much your school values student experience.

Designing a thoughtful, inclusive interview process is essential—but it’s only part of the equation. The strongest hiring outcomes happen when that process is supported by intentional groundwork. Recruiting the right people means doing more than reviewing applications; it means expanding your reach, deepening your partnerships, and creating conditions where all voices are considered from the very beginning. Before the interviews begin, there’s real opportunity to lay a foundation that reflects your school’s values and positions your team for long-term success.

Laying the Groundwork: What Happens Before the Interview Matters

Actively recruit

Instead of relying solely on job boards, reach out to your networks. Connect with educator prep programs, attend job fairs, and engage on platforms where top talent is already active. Consider who you’re not reaching, too. Are there culturally inclusive educator organizations or affinity groups you could partner with? Recruiting is as much about relationship-building as it is about visibility.

Recruit Early

Some of the best recruiting happens before there’s even a vacancy. Make a habit of promoting your school as a great place to work through teacher prep programs, job shadowing opportunities, student teaching partnerships, and community-based education networks. When you build strong relationships with programs that are preparing the next generation of educators, you create a pipeline of candidates who are already familiar with your school’s culture and values. This kind of early exposure helps prospective educators picture themselves on your campus—and can lead to better alignment when a position becomes available.

Equitable Voice

A collaborative hiring process is only as strong as the voices it includes. To truly reflect your school community, be intentional about who is involved in each step—from principal interviews to teacher panels to student input. Make space for a range of perspectives across roles, backgrounds, and lived experiences. For example, ensure your teacher team represents different content areas and grade levels. When students are included, create structures that help them feel prepared and supported to share honest feedback. By embedding equity into the design—not just the outcome—you’re modeling the kind of inclusive culture you expect new hires to help uphold.

Hiring isn’t just a task to complete—it’s a reflection of your school’s identity and aspirations. When you approach it as a shared responsibility, grounded in inclusion and purpose, you’re not just filling roles—you’re building a team that believes in the work ahead. By laying the groundwork early, bringing diverse voices into the process, and centering students in meaningful ways, you create a culture that attracts and retains educators who are ready to make a difference. Because in the end, every strong hiring decision is an investment in what matters most: student readiness.

No posts found.