HIRING A TEACHER IS ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR MAKES

Introduction

Susan Moore Johnson’s statement that “hiring a teacher is arguably the most important decision a school administrator makes” captures a central truth about schooling: the quality of teachers profoundly shapes students’ academic, social, and emotional development. While school leaders make many consequential decisions—about curriculum, discipline, budgeting, schedules, and community partnerships—few decisions have as direct and lasting an effect on students as choosing the adults who will teach them every day.

A strong teacher can inspire curiosity, build confidence, close achievement gaps, and create a classroom culture where students feel seen and capable. Conversely, poor hiring decisions can affect not only student learning but also staff morale, school culture, parent trust, and long-term organizational stability. For this reason, teacher hiring should not be treated as a routine administrative task. It should be viewed as a strategic process that determines the strength and future direction of the school.

This article examines why hiring teachers is such a critical responsibility for school administrators, what makes teacher selection complex, and how schools can improve hiring practices through evidence-based, mission-driven approaches.

The Teacher as the Most Influential School-Based Factor

Research has repeatedly shown that teachers are among the most important school-based influences on student achievement. Although family background, socioeconomic conditions, and community context matter greatly, the teacher remains one of the most powerful factors within a school’s control.

Effective teachers do more than deliver content. They:

• Design meaningful learning experiences  
• Build relationships with students  
• Adapt instruction to diverse needs  
• Create safe and respectful classroom environments  
• Use assessment to guide instruction  
• Encourage persistence and intellectual growth  

In their influential study, Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain found that teacher quality has a significant impact on student achievement, and that differences among teachers can produce substantial differences in student learning outcomes (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005). Similarly, Hattie’s synthesis of educational research emphasizes that teacher effectiveness is a major contributor to student learning, particularly when teachers provide clarity, feedback, and strong instructional guidance (Hattie, 2009).

Because teachers interact with students daily, the cumulative effect of their practice is enormous. A student may forget a particular lesson, but they often remember the teacher who believed in them, challenged them, or helped them discover their abilities.

Hiring as a Strategic Leadership Decision

Teacher hiring is not simply about filling a vacancy. It is about shaping the identity, culture, and instructional quality of a school.

Every hiring decision answers important questions:

• What kind of learning environment do we want?
• What values should guide our classrooms?
• What skills and dispositions do our students need from teachers?
• How will this candidate contribute to our school community?
• Can this person grow within our professional culture?

A school administrator who hires thoughtfully is building more than a staff list; they are building an educational community. Johnson’s work on teacher workplaces emphasizes that teachers thrive when they are supported by strong professional cultures, collaborative colleagues, and effective leadership (Johnson, 2019). Therefore, hiring must consider not only an individual teacher’s qualifications but also their fit within the school’s mission and capacity for collaboration.

A teacher may have impressive credentials yet struggle in a school environment if they do not share the school’s commitments, understand its students, or work well with colleagues. Conversely, a promising candidate with a growth mindset, strong relational skills, and reflective habits may become an outstanding educator when properly supported.

The Complexity of Teacher Quality

One reason hiring teachers is difficult is that teacher quality is multidimensional. It cannot be measured by a résumé alone.

A strong candidate may demonstrate competence in several areas:

1. Content Knowledge

Teachers must understand the subject matter they teach. Students benefit when teachers can explain concepts clearly, anticipate misconceptions, and connect ideas across topics.

2. Pedagogical Skill

Knowing content is not enough. Teachers must know how to teach it. This includes lesson design, questioning strategies, differentiation, assessment, and classroom management.

3. Relationship-Building

Students learn best when they feel respected and supported. Teachers who build trusting relationships are often better able to motivate students and create productive classroom environments.

4. Cultural Responsiveness

Schools serve students from diverse cultural, linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Effective teachers recognize students’ identities as assets and adapt instruction in ways that affirm and include them.

5. Reflective Practice

Excellent teachers are learners themselves. They examine evidence, accept feedback, adjust instruction, and continuously improve.

6. Collaboration

Modern teaching is rarely isolated work. Teachers participate in teams, professional learning communities, and school-wide initiatives. The ability to collaborate is essential.

Darling-Hammond has argued that teacher preparation, professional learning, and working conditions all influence teacher effectiveness (Darling-Hammond, 2010). This means hiring should look beyond superficial indicators and assess the deeper qualities that predict success in real classrooms.

The Consequences of Poor Hiring Decisions

Poor hiring decisions can have serious consequences. When a teacher is not well-suited to the role, students may experience inconsistent instruction, weak classroom management, or low expectations. This can lead to gaps in learning, disengagement, and frustration.

The effects also extend to the organization. A poor hiring decision may:

• Increase teacher turnover  
• Lower team morale  
• Require additional administrative supervision  
• Damage relationships with families  
• Disrupt school improvement efforts  
• Create instability for students  

Teacher turnover is costly, both financially and educationally. Ingersoll’s research has shown that teacher turnover is often linked to working conditions, leadership, and organizational support (Ingersoll, 2001). When schools repeatedly hire and lose teachers, they struggle to build continuity and trust. Students notice instability, and staff members may become discouraged.

For these reasons, hiring should be careful, structured, and aligned with long-term goals rather than rushed due to immediate staffing pressure.

Building an Effective Hiring Process

A strong hiring process is intentional and evidence-based. It should involve more than a brief interview and a review of credentials.

1. Define the School’s Needs Clearly

Before interviewing candidates, administrators should identify what the school truly needs. This includes the academic subject or grade level, but also broader needs such as:

• Experience with multilingual learners  
• Skill in inclusive education  
• Ability to support students with trauma  
• Strength in collaborative planning  
• Commitment to culturally responsive teaching  
• Capacity to contribute to extracurricular or advisory programs  

Clear criteria help hiring teams make fairer and better decisions.

2. Use a Diverse Hiring Committee

Hiring should not rest on one person’s impressions. Including teachers, department leaders, instructional coaches, and sometimes community representatives can provide multiple perspectives. A diverse committee also helps reduce individual bias.

3. Ask Evidence-Based Interview Questions

Interview questions should invite candidates to demonstrate how they think and act in real situations.

Examples include:

• “Describe a time when a lesson did not go as planned. What did you do next?”
• “How do you build relationships with students who seem disengaged?”
• “How do you use assessment data to adjust instruction?”
• “Tell us about a time you collaborated with colleagues to solve an instructional problem.”
• “How do you create an inclusive classroom for students from different backgrounds?”

Such questions reveal habits of reflection, problem-solving, and student-centered thinking.

4. Include a Teaching Demonstration

Whenever possible, candidates should teach a sample lesson or conduct a simulated teaching task. Observing instruction provides insight into communication, pacing, questioning, classroom presence, and responsiveness.

A demonstration does not reveal everything, but it offers richer evidence than an interview alone.

5. Check References Thoughtfully

References should be used to confirm patterns. Administrators can ask former supervisors about reliability, collaboration, instructional growth, relationships with students, and openness to feedback.

6. Look for Growth Potential

The best candidate is not always the most polished candidate. Schools should look for candidates who show the capacity to learn, reflect, and improve. A teacher with humility, curiosity, and resilience may become highly effective with mentoring and support.

Equity and Bias in Teacher Hiring

Teacher hiring also has an equity dimension. Schools must be aware of bias in recruitment and selection. Bias may appear in assumptions about where candidates studied, how they speak, what experiences are valued, or whether they “fit” the culture of the school.

The idea of “fit” can be helpful, but it can also become problematic if it means hiring people who resemble existing staff rather than those who will serve students well. A better question is not simply, “Does this person fit our current culture?” but rather, “Will this person strengthen our culture and help us serve students more effectively?”

Research has emphasized the importance of diversifying the teacher workforce. Students benefit when they encounter educators from varied backgrounds, and teachers of color can have positive academic and social effects, particularly for students of color (Dee, 2004; Gershenson et al., 2018). However, diversity should not be treated symbolically. Schools must also create supportive conditions that allow all teachers to thrive.

Equitable hiring practices may include:

• Standardized interview questions  
• Clear scoring rubrics  
• Diverse hiring panels  
• Active recruitment from varied preparation programs  
• Attention to inclusive language in job postings  
• Training committee members to recognize bias  

Hiring Is Only the Beginning

Even the best hiring process cannot guarantee success unless new teachers are supported after they join the school. Hiring and induction must be connected.

New teachers need:

• Mentoring  
• Clear expectations  
• Time to collaborate  
• Constructive feedback  
• Access to curriculum resources  
• Emotional and professional support  
• Opportunities for professional learning  

Strong induction programs reduce isolation and help teachers develop more quickly. Ingersoll and Strong found that teacher induction and mentoring programs can improve teacher retention, instructional practice, and student achievement (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011).

Administrators must remember that hiring is not a one-day event. It is the first stage of a professional relationship. A school that hires well but fails to support teachers may still lose talented educators.

The Role of School Culture

A teacher’s success depends partly on individual ability, but also on the culture of the school. Johnson’s work highlights that teachers are more likely to thrive in schools where leadership is supportive, collaboration is meaningful, and professional norms are strong (Johnson, 2019).

A healthy school culture includes:

• Trust among adults  
• Shared responsibility for students  
• Respectful communication  
• Clear instructional priorities  
• Opportunities for teacher voice  
• Professional learning rather than blame  
• Consistent leadership  

When administrators hire teachers, they are also choosing future contributors to this culture. Every new teacher changes the staff dynamic in some way. Therefore, hiring must consider how candidates will participate in the collective life of the school.

Practical Recommendations for School Administrators

To improve teacher hiring, administrators should consider the following recommendations:

1. Start Recruitment Early

Waiting until late summer often limits the candidate pool. Schools should build relationships with universities, teacher preparation programs, professional networks, and community organizations throughout the year.

2. Create a Clear Profile of an Effective Teacher

Develop a school-specific profile that includes instructional skills, relational qualities, equity commitments, and collaboration expectations.

3. Use Structured Interviews

Structured interviews are generally more reliable than informal conversations. Ask all candidates core questions and use a rubric to evaluate responses.

4. Include Performance Tasks

Teaching demonstrations, lesson planning exercises, or analysis of student work can reveal how candidates think and teach.

5. Prioritize Mission Alignment

Candidates should understand and support the school’s mission, student population, and educational priorities.

6. Invest in Induction

Hiring should be followed by mentoring, coaching, and regular feedback.

7. Monitor Hiring Outcomes

Schools should review whether their hiring processes lead to strong retention, teacher effectiveness, and positive student outcomes.

Conclusion

Hiring a teacher is one of the most important decisions a school administrator makes because teachers are central to the daily experience of students. They influence achievement, motivation, confidence, classroom culture, and long-term educational opportunity.

A strong hiring process requires more than reviewing credentials or conducting a friendly interview. It demands clarity, structure, fairness, evidence, and a deep understanding of the school’s mission. Administrators must look for teachers who possess not only knowledge and skill but also compassion, adaptability, cultural responsiveness, and the capacity to grow.

Susan Moore Johnson’s statement is powerful because it reminds school leaders that hiring is not merely administrative—it is moral and educational work. Each teacher hired becomes part of a child’s story, a school’s culture, and a community’s future. When administrators hire wisely and support teachers well, they make one of the greatest investments possible in student success.

References

1. Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. Teachers College Press.
2. Dee, T. S. (2004). Teachers, race, and student achievement in a randomized experiment. Review of Economics and Statistics, 86 (1), 195–210.
3. Gershenson, S., Hart, C. M. D., Hyman, J., Lindsay, C., & Papageorge, N. W. (2018). The long-run impacts of same-race teachers. National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper No. 25254.
4. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.
5. Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38 (3), 499–534.
6. Ingersoll, R. M., & Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 81 (2), 201–233.
7. Johnson, S. M. (2019). Where teachers thrive: Organizing schools for success. Harvard Education Press.
8. Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73 (2), 417–458.