District Administration - April 2007 - (Page 60)

HUMAN RESOURCES Hunting for As the number of highly qualiﬁed administrators shrinks, school recruiters are changing how they do business. F By Carol Patton our years ago, when Larry Leverett was being recruited for superintendent at Greenwich Public Schools in Connecticut, members of the search committee did something he didn’t expect. They invited him and his wife to dinner. Committee members chatted with his wife, explaining why they believed her husband was the right person for the job, boasted about his accomplishments and described how he could beneﬁt the district, Leverett recalls. Since the position required a relocation, they asked about the family’s needs and promoted the community, which sits on Long Island Sound just 40 minutes from New York City. “I’ve been a superintendent at three different districts and this has never happened before,” says Leverett, a member of the national advisory board for the George Lucas Education Foundation. “Our conversation changed from one where I was reporting [about] my interviews and interactions [to my wife] to one where she became a participant.” The dinner was a carefully orchestrated sales pitch to persuade Leverett’s wife to okay the new job. Gaining her support was a smart play. Chances were that the happier she was, the happier and more suc- cessful her husband would be in his new role. Wining and dining can work. Although Leverett’s wife didn’t move, he accepted the position and took temporary residence locally during the school week. But after three years of commuting from his New Jersey home on weekends, he left his job last June and started his new position as executive director at Panasonic Foundation in Secaucus, N.J. Just like their counterparts in the corporate world, human resource personnel at school districts nationwide are battling for top talent. Although evidence is anecdotal, many believe that quality administrators are growing scarce, pointing to reasons like high stakes testing, 70-hour work weeks and mounting pressures in part from the federal No Child Left Behind law to improve student performance. So districts are trying new techniques to grow talent and lure quality candidates. Districts vary in their approach to ﬁ nding quality administrators. Some rely on their own personnel and resources. Some use both their own tactics and outside sources, such as advertising in newspapers and Web sites and calling professional search ﬁ rms. Administrators in Boise Public Schools in Idaho recruit entirely on their own, with occasional help or 60 April 2007 District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - April 2007

Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
“See You in Court!"
Lost in Translation
Bonding Agents
Certifying AP Courses
Hunting for Talent - Part 2
Buying Power
The Musty Bookshelf
New Products
Leadership
Speaking Out
The Online Edge
Problem/Solution
Calendar of Events
Overheard On The Pulse

District Administration - April 2007