Mayor opens Boston's first-ever teacher recruitment center

Mayor Thomas M. Menino this morning opened Boston's first-ever teacher recruitment center, a one-stop information and service center for individuals interested in teaching in Boston's public schools. Today also marks the start of Boston's earlier, more streamlined teacher hiring process under the city's new teachers' contract. For the first time ever, all open positions (for next year) are being made available (on-line) to all candidates from the start of the hiring process. Mayor Menino also outlined aggressive new recruiting efforts that, combined with the new hiring process, will enable Boston to compete with other school districts for teaching candidates.

Joining Mayor Menino for the announcement were Boston School Committee chair Elizabeth Reilinger; Boston Public Schools Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant; Boston Teachers Union president Edward Doherty; Jerry Miller, managing director for Merrill Lynch's New England market; and John Marshall Elementary School principal Teresa Harvey-Jackson. As founding sponsor of the recruitment center, located on the first floor of school department headquarters at 26 Court St. downtown, Merrill Lynch is contributing $250,000 over two years.

Teachers' contract

Under the new Boston School Committee/Boston Teachers Union contract, ratified last October, March 1 marks the opening of Boston's teacher hiring process for next year and the first time that teacher openings for next year will be open to all candidates from the start of the hiring process.

The new contract allows more candidates to apply for positions earlier in the year, so that schools can interview and hire more applicants earlier and not risk losing them to other school districts. Opening all positions simultaneously to all candidates as early as March 1 places Boston's hiring process among the earliest in the state.

Previously, open positions were made available first to Boston teachers with at least two years of experience in the same position. Only then were openings eventually made available to other candidates - e.g., first-year teachers, recent college graduates, teachers from outside Boston, etc. In some instances, BPS teachers will still receive preference over other applicants.

Today 712 open positions for next year were made public on-line (another first) at www.bostonpublicschools.org. Candidates may apply from March 1 - 14. Schools may begin interviewing at any time after March 1. Boston expects to fill over 90% of today's open positions by the beginning of May, compared to August and even early September in past years. Any vacancies not filled will be posted on the web site beginning May 1 with any new openings.

Recruitment Center

The recruitment center will offer one-stop-shopping for information and service for prospective Boston teachers. Candidates will be able to check out open positions on the five computer terminals. Staff will provide information on certification, benefits, salaries, individual schools, housing, etc.

Results

Comparing Boston's recruiting and hiring results this year to the same time last year shows significant progress.

• To date, Boston has doubled the number of candidates interviewed (866 this year vs. approximately 400 last year).
• Over four times as many new candidates have already been offered jobs for next year (65 this year vs. 15 last year).
• The Boston Public Schools has already held twice as many career fairs as last year (18 vs. 9). To date, Boston has also held interviews at 35 colleges and universities, presented at 5 national conferences, and held 10 information sessions. The BPS will hold another recruitment fair this Saturday, March 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

Approximately 2,500 Boston teachers - nearly half of the city's current teaching force - will be eligible to retire over the next five years, with roughly 250 retirements expected by the end of this school year. Boston will face stiff competition for top teaching candidates with other districts - locally and nationally - that will also experience high teacher turnover in the next several years.

Boston has 130 public schools, 4,600 teachers, and 63,500 students. Under the new contract, starting teacher salaries for next year range from $37,500 to $45,000, depending on education level.