6/1/17
We have had many teaching candidates shadowing teachers over the past few weeks. The process begins with Mr. Haggart screening all candidate resumes. After that, we select from those sent to us by Mr. Haggart and then we perform an introductory interview which is no more than 30 minutes. We then ask selected candidates back for a formal interview. After that, we select a few to shadow our teachers here at the high school. We like to see how the prospective teacher interacts with students throughout an entire day before going further in an interview process. We then take the best candidate and send him/her to Mr. Haggart for a final interview. It is a long and grueling process but one that has brought in high quality staff members.
Juniors will receive their SAT/MME Exam waivers today. Please remind them to keep the waiver if they plan on using it next year. Because the SAT scores are not in yet, the process is muddy. We’ve had to reconfigure how we award waivers in a very short amount of time. The State of Michigan told us to expect SAT scores in the middle of May. As we enter June, we are still without them.
We are hearing lots of rumors on the legislative front concerning teachers, teacher preparation, and teacher shortages. After going through the process very early this year, and being one of the first districts to hire, I can absolutely say we are in an era of teacher shortage. A real example can be obtained by looking at Detroit Public Schools. They currently have over 200 positions being taught by substitutes that may not have teaching credentials. They simply can’t find certified staff. There are lots of statistics out there that show Michigan has far more certified teachers than what we have jobs for but those statistics fail to highlight how many of those people have left the field (50% leave teaching in the first 5 years), retirees, and administrators. I would not want to post a teaching job right now because the candidates are few and far between. It will only get worse the further we go into summer. I am so glad we are wrapping up our hiring at the high school this week.
Scott Sherman
It's A Great Day To Be A Packer!
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