On March 1, the School Site Council (SSC) Personnel Subcommittee began its hiring process for Boston Latin School faculty.
The SSC makes major decisions for BLS, including the creation and modification of policies and the management of the school’s budget. The SSC is composed of the Head of School, teachers, parents and community members.
The SSC Personnel Subcommittee is a self-nominated group of at least two faculty members, one parent, student and community member from the SSC. These members will aid in the hiring of faculty along with the Head of School. Each member can serve for a maximum of three years.
The hiring process begins by finding candidates who have applied for vacant positions through the Boston Public Schools TalentEd website. Then, the subcommittee will review all of the resumes and select around five to eight candidates to interview for each position. Though the subcommittee’s members are fixed, it may bring in an alternate member to fill in as needed.
Following the interviews, members will take part in a meeting where they will discuss the candidates and fill out a form indicating their opinions. During this process, the subcommittee will also pick a few candidates to lead sample lessons. Some members believe that this is the most insightful step. Head of School Jason Gallagher explains, “When you’re doing interviews and you see people working with students during sample lessons, there’s just a feeling that you get. […] It’s not always described just on a resume.”
Ultimately, the Head of School will make the final decision on who receives the position. The concluding choice for each position usually takes no more than two and a half weeks to complete.
The subcommittee looks for many qualities when finding the right candidate. Other than caring about students, members also look for diverse experiences. Faculty Representative Mr. Brian Smith remarks, “I personally like […] a candidate who has had a different walk of life that might add to the big, broader way for us to think about ‘great’ education.”
The group faces some obstacles during the hiring process. Some challenges include finding a diverse group of candidates, narrowing down a pool of many qualified people to just a few candidates and setting aside one’s personal biases in favor of picking a candidate who is best fitted for the job.
While there are challenges, many aspects of the hiring process can be rewarding for members. During this process, meeting a qualified pool of diverse candidates allows current educators to reflect upon themselves. Faculty Representative Ms. Rachel Kelly explains, “I think it’s enjoyable […] seeing […] that the standards that we’re holding our candidates to [are those] I’m also holding myself to.”
The benefits of the hiring process continue. Members also believe that while meeting new and amazing people, they can also hear diverse opinions, not only from teacher and parent representatives but also from the student body.
Currently, the subcommittee is reviewing resumes and interviewing candidates. While this process is demanding, members agree that the process of hiring faculty and working with the SSC Personnel Subcommittee is enjoyable.
Head of School Gallagher reflects, “I love working with the team of people because […] the student representative on it always brings […] things that we, as adults, don’t always think of and […] it’s the same with the families’ perspective. You put that together with a teacher’s perspective and we just get a really good group.”
