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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school district is changing its hiring process for aspiring principals in an effort to build a more robust group of candidates who can tackle a school's top job.
Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/21ao45i ) reports that instead of a candidate applying directly for the favored job, he or she will apply to a principal pool. Candidates will then be interviewed and vetted before being considered for a principal position at a specific school.
The effort began last spring and is being funded with a nearly $451,000 grant from the Sherwood Foundation and Lozier Foundation as well as help from Cross and Joftus, a Maryland-based education consulting firm that helped the district develop its strategic plan.
A committee of district principals, teachers and administrators has drawn up specific job requirements and skills that candidates should be able to demonstrate to prove they're ready to lead a school.
"We really want principals to be able to manage achievement gaps, be able to identify where students are learning and not learning, come in with action steps and build a culture in that building that's able to address those things," said Burke High Assistant Principal Gaye Lannan.
Charles Wakefield, the chief human resources officer for the district, told the school board this month that the goal is to be able to predict retirements and vacancies two years out and have three to four quality candidates for each open position.
"How do we pick, how do we select, how do we build that succession plan so we make sure we're getting the right people in the right place at the right time?" Wakefield said.
Omaha Public Schools anticipates that about 10 principals will leave their jobs or retire at the end of this school year.
The district began accepting positions for its new principal pool last month.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
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