Staff and Student Services Division

Administrator Hiring Process with Committees for Dearborn Schools.  

Dearborn Schools is an equal opportunity employer.  The district seeks to recruit the best candidates for the position regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, (including sexual orientation and transgender identity), disability, age, religion, height, weight, marital or family status, military status, ancestry, genetic information or any other legally protected category, (collectively, "Protected Classes").

All administrative positions open to outside hire shall be posted on the district employment web site.  Furthermore the district will post positions on appropriate professional sites throughout the State of Michigan.

Administrator Hiring Procedures for Executive Directors and Directors

1. The Position shall be posted for a minimum of two weeks statewide.
2. Candidates are selected for interviews after review by the Superintendent and Executive Directors.
3. Candidates selected for interview will be interviewed by two separate committees.  In the event of limited participation there may be one committee if approved by the Superintendent.
4. One Committee shall be made up of District Administrators and Union Leadership.  The ADSA president shall recommend members of the ADSA unit to serve on the committee. The Superintendent may also appoint community members to this committee based on their expertise.  Presidents of the DFT, DSOEA and DFSE may serve on this committee or the second committee.
5. The Second Committee shall be made up of staff members in the division or department of the position being filled.  The committee may also consist of community members and high school students.   The President of district unions and leadership of the non-union groups shall select members to serve  on the committee.  Other members, including parents, students and community members may be appointed by the Superintendent or someone designated by the Superintendent.
6. Each committee will interview candidates and recommend finalist to be interviewed by the Superintendent using the following process:

A.        The committee will develop questions to ask the candidates.

B.        After the interviews are complete the committee will have a discussion regarding the qualifications and interview answers of the candidates.

C.        After discussions all committee members separately and privately rank candidates from first to last.  Each committee member must rank all candidates top to bottom with 1 being the top .

D.        HR will tally the rankings and report the findings of both committees to the Superintendent .

8.        Final candidates are determined by the Superintendent and interviewed one on one by the Superintendent.  In addition to a formal interview with the Superintendent, final candidates conduct classroom walkthroughs with the Superintendent and an Executive Director of Student Achievement.  Regardless of the ranking system, the Superintendent may select any of the final candidates.  The Superintendent will give consideration to information and rankings that are sent by the committees.

9.        Superintendent makes a recommendation to the Board of Education.

Note: All candidates will be reviewed for previous administrative experience and training, previous evaluations, work history, and attendance.  

Administrator Hiring Procedures for Principals, Assistant Principals and Coordinators

1.        The Position shall be posted for a minimum of two weeks statewide.

2.        Candidates are selected for interviews after review by the Superintendent and Executive Directors.

3.        Candidates selected for interviews will receive an interview before the Administrative Committee. The Administrative committee includes cabinet members and ADSA members.

4.        When filling central office coordinator positions a combined committee including staff and parents may be convened in place of an Administrative Committee.

5.        The administrative committee (or joint committee if applicable) recommends final candidates using the following process:

1. The committee will develop questions to ask the candidates.
2. Have a discussion regarding the qualifications and interview answers of the candidates.  
3. After discussions all committee members individually rank candidates from top to bottom with 1 being the top.  Each committee member must rank all candidates.
4. HR will tally the rankings and report the findings to the Superintendent .

In the event of a combined committee the process moves to step 8.

6.        Final Candidates will receive an interview before a parent committee and staff committee. Staff committee members are selected by union heads DFSE, DFT and DSOEA.  Parent Committee members are selected by the Building Principal, if in place, along with the PTA or recruited by other parent leadership clubs. For High School positions a student committee may also be convened. Parent, staff and student committees shall rank and recommend candidates individually from first to last.  All committee members will rank candidates individually from top to bottom with 1 being the top.  

7.        Human Resources will tally the scores and rank candidates by each committee from top to bottom and report the results to the Superintendent.

8.        Final candidates are determined by the Superintendent and interviewed one on one by the Superintendent.  In addition to a formal interview with the Superintendent, final candidates conduct classroom walkthroughs with the Superintendent and an Executive Director of Student Achievement.  Regardless of the ranking system, the Superintendent may select any of the final candidates.  The Superintendent will give consideration to information and rankings that are sent by the committees.

9.        Superintendent makes a recommendation to the Board of Education.

Note: All candidates will be reviewed for previous administrative experience and training, previous evaluations, work history, and attendance.  

Effective December 18, 2015, all interview committee members receive the following

disclaimer at the beginning of the interview session.  The interview facilitator is also required

to read the disclaimer aloud to all committee members.

Interview Committee Members:

Thank you for participating in the hiring process.  Please review the following guidelines designed to ensure a consistent process is implemented.  The interview process and your participation are intended to screen applicants and collect collaborative input for the Superintendent’s review and consideration.  The Superintendent interviews applicants that proceed to the final round and makes the final recommendation for Board approval. 

·       All discussions are to remain confidential following the interview session.

·       Committee members may choose to publicly discuss candidates during the session.

·       Committee voting must be done independently and privately.  The facilitator will provide a folder for the ranking sheet and committee members must include their name on the ranking sheet.

·       All candidates must be assigned a unique ranking number with one representing the best candidate.

·       All candidates must receive the same specified amount of time (30 or 35 minutes).

·       Technology, including cell phones, is not permitted during the interviews except for the committee facilitator’s timing tool.

Document Updated December 21, 2015