Annie Rau ’19: Due to the 27 available job positions that the 2017-18 school year will bring, there is now a pressing need to locate multiple potential faculty members. While this number may seem abnormally large, it is in fact quite similar to the numbers of years past. Many are the result of internal promotions, 14 of which will be in the Upper School due to departing faculty seeking new opportunities at different schools.
The hiring process at Episcopal has attempted to become more rigorous in order to select the candidate with the best fit for the job. Tracie Lee, Coordinator of Faculty Recruitment, asserts the importance of growth-minded teachers, “We look for teachers who are passionate about working with children and their content area. We want teachers who, even if they have been teaching for 20 years, still continue to want to learn more and grow.”
Typically, there are 80 to 100 applicants per opening. “These numbers are pretty consistent with prior years or a bit higher. A great part of the hiring news for this year is that many of the open positions were filled internally as opportunities for our teachers to advance in their careers. When teachers take on some administrative responsibilities, they may remain in the classroom, but teach fewer sections. Then we have to hire new teachers to cover those classes,” says Lee.
Similar to prospective EA students, certain candidates for positions are chosen to visit the school in order to gain a better feel for the atmosphere of the campus. “When they come in for the interviewing process and to see the school, I sometimes have them shadow a department head so that our candidate can receive the best experience that our school has to offer,” explains Lee. “For example, if the candidate were to be a Spanish teacher, I would do an interview in English and then the Spanish teachers would interview the candidate as well to test their fluency skills.” It is important that these candidates are able to see the school, understand the dynamic of the work day, and meet with an interview committee, consisting of division heads, Dr. Locke, Tracie Lee, Dr. Hall, Mrs. Justice, Mr. Parsons and the Academic Dean. After meeting with the candidate, each person on the interview committee must complete a survey about their thoughts and opinions of the applicant.
Claire Jacoby ‘19 supports and encourages the current hiring system that implements teacher visits. Jacoby says, “Having so many new teachers come to Episcopal is an exciting opportunity for everybody involved. This opportunity allows the creation of a two way relationship between student and teacher. We, the students, are able to educate our new teachers on daily life at Episcopal and create fresh dynamic relationships with them.”
The current hiring process has not always been this way. When Cheryl McLauchlan received her job in 1995, her only requirement for applying for a job was sit down with Mr. Crawford and explain to him why she wanted to be a part of the Episcopal community. McLauchlan reflects, “I was not looking for a job until August. I quit my job at Baldwin and heard that there was a job here at Episcopal. I called to say that I was interested in being interviewed. They called me back. I came in for an interview with Dr. Crawford and by the time I got home, I had a job offer.”
Over the years, the process has become more precise in making decisions about candidates. Lee says, “We receive so many different and highly qualified applications that go through the screening process. I then go through and screen all of them in order to decide to who to bring in for an interview. I end up interviewing about four people per position. The hardest part of my job is telling highly qualified applicants that they did not get the job.”