As school districts compete to attract and hire highly qualified teachers of diversity, human resource (HR) leaders in organizations face multiple challenges. Based on the benefit to students, particularly students of diversity, there is an impetus for the leaders within school districts to strive to increase the diversity of teachers working with…

This study was designed to understand how school districts treat their current principals and principal candidates who have taken online courses or who have earned online degrees. Through a survey of 105 human resources directors in K-12 schools across the USA, the study found five major themes: (1) districts are reluctant to hire principals with…

Many school districts struggle to recruit sufficient high-quality principals for their schools. A variety of conditions contribute to this challenge, including the retirement of the baby boom cohort and diminishing interest in administrative careers due to the expanded responsibilities of school principals. In response, districts enact a range of…

As a first-year superintendent, Nick Polyak has yet to conduct a search for a principal to lead one of his four schools in the Illinois Valley Central School District in Chillicothe, Ill. When that opportunity does come, Polyak is quite sure he'll be skeptical of any candidate whose curriculum vitae lists courses or entire degrees completed in…

Examples of forms 20 school districts use to obtain personal references on teacher candidates are reproduced. (PGD)

Principals claim the authority to hire teachers; however, central office personnel specialists, who are trained to make balanced, legally sound hiring decisions, also have a role to play. In an introduction to three articles on this topic, practices at three organizations outside education that demonstrate a partnership approach are cited. (MLF)

To help coordinate the effort of filling school staff positions, this brief article pinpoints the responsibilities of the school, board, superintendent, school attorney, and personnel director, and identifies the steps in the hiring process. The school board's role, which goes far beyond being a rubber stamp, is described as including both its…

Twenty western and northern districts, 10 larger and 10 smaller than Seattle, were surveyed to determine the degree of responsibility of the Personnel Departments in selected functions in the following areas: (1) Certificated Staff, (2) Classified Staff, (3) Records and Payroll, (4) Salary Administration, and (5) Negotiations. Information was also…

Defines staff morale, discusses its importance, and delineates the areas in which a personnel administrator should provide leadership to create positive morale. (SRT)

Describes the advantages of computerizing a school's office. Computers save time, boost worker productivity, and, in the end, save money. (MD)

This guide summarizes information and procedures from recent research on staff development and provides examples of staff development practices in Georgia school systems. Section 1 describes a new vision for staff development, with a focus on student development as a strategy for organizational change. Section 2 looks at the expanding role of the…

Presents a 10-question instrument to help school leaders interview and select outstanding school personnel directors. The questions and responses cover prospective candidates' basic skills and required attributes; knowledge of roles and functions; communication abilities; teacher recruitment and orientation strategies; staff motivation and…

Researchers who have focused on issues of interpersonal communication in organizations have concluded that it is an essential component of organizational life. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the role conceptions of principals in the Centenial Schools Program (CSP) and those of principals in non-CSP schools. Communicator…

This article focuses from a critical perspective on the pedagogical foundations of a course on educational leadership of student services and special education administration. Additionally, it explores the ability of teaching the "practical application" of administering K-12 special education and student services using critical discourse…

It is in the public interest to provide statutory checks on the excessive power abruptly attained by teachers' unions. (Author)