A Proposal for Success in American Schools

The Haberman Educational Foundation, Inc. is a not-for- profit 501 (c) (3) based in Houston, TX and was chartered in 1994 to promote and disseminate the research of Dr. Martin Haberman. The unified and single goal of HEF is to teach and implement research-based models for identifying teachers and administrators, particularly educators who serve students at-risk and in poverty. To that end and for 50 years, Dr. Martin Haberman developed, researched, refined and replicated research in the area of teacher interviewing and selection, administrator interviewing and selection, and the development of alternative certification programs. The instruments proposed are the culmination of his work. Haberman’s pioneering efforts in alternative teacher certification was designed to educate and certify individuals specifically chosen to teach the most challenging students.

The Star Teacher/Star Administrator Selection Interviews are based on the behaviors, characteristics, and beliefs of teachers and principals nationwide shown to be unequivocally successful with students at risk. These include:

  • Persistence
  • Organization and Planning
  • Values
  • “At-Risk” Students
  • Approach to Students
  • Survive in Bureaucracy
  • Explains Teacher Success
  • Explains Student Success
  • Fallibility

Understanding the centrality of this set of beliefs, Dr. Haberman formulated an interview to select individuals whose beliefs and behaviors match the teachers who are, over time, the most successful with the most challenging students. Their students have the highest test scores; they attend and are motivated; they have fewer office referrals. This request for proposal is based on the body of research that has emerged from Dr. Haberman’s lifetime of work and the many scholars, researchers, and practicing educators who have replicated his work, embedded it in school district practice, and used it to effectively improve student achievement and teacher retention.

 

   Achieving Success in school districts across America for over 20 years…

 

The Haberman Educational Foundation has been servicing the children and youth of America in hundreds of school districts across the nation by providing research-based teacher and administrator selection training events. In the past five years alone, we have worked in 114 cities. In many cases, we make return visits to ensure all staff members are well-versed and speaking the same language regarding the research and its validity.

Places we have been include:

  • Adams 12 5- Star Schools, Thornton CO
  • Hillsborough County Schools, Tampa FL
  • Houston Independent School District, TX
  • Palm Beach County Schools, FL
  • Cleveland Public Schools, OH
  • Harrison School District Two, Colorado Springs CO
  • San Jose, CA
  • Decatur Public Schools, IL
  • Nordonia Hills, OH
  • Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls TX
  • Rio Salado College, Tempe AZ
  • Harmony Public Schools, TX
  • Long Beach USD, CA

 

OUR SErvices

 

The Star Teacher Selection Interview:

The Haberman Educational Foundation (HEF) proposes to train principal teams consisting of a principal and assistant/associate principal.  Several additional teams would include school improvement/Human Resource personnel who recruit nationally and internationally.   Teams are flexible and may be designed to fit each district’s specific needs by the superintendent or an appropriate designee.  Intense, district saturation training such as proposed here is a formidable force focusing on the power of personnel selection.  With the one day of intensive training, a team or pair representing every individual school would be prepared to interview teacher candidates.  Subsequently, a tremendous number of individuals would be 1) speaking a common language, the language of “core beliefs” of star teachers; 2) knowledgeable about the core beliefs of the teachers whose students achieve the most and stay in school; 3) articulate in pedagogy designed specifically to meet the needs of at-risk youth.  When principals understand the ideology of the star teacher live interview, they will fully understand the implications of the online teacher pre-screener results which goes hand in hand with the interview protocol, thus, changing the culture of hiring in the school district.

Background and Methodology of the Star Teacher Selection Interview: The Teacher Selection Interview was developed by identifying functions which discriminate between the behaviors of star teachers and quitter/failure teachers. The number of star teachers (app. 8%) and the number of quitter/failure teachers (app. 40%) in the 120 major urban school districts was both sufficiently large and accessible. Stars were willing to be interviewed because they had been identified on seven criteria as being extraordinary teachers. Quitter/failure teachers were equally willing to be interviewed because they believed that the problems they encountered with students were the fault of the students, their parents or the school’s systems. Indeed, they were generally eager to conduct exit interviews and explain in detail the reasons why “good” teachers such as themselves could not continue to teach in these systems.

After identifying the functions which discriminate between the two groups questions were developed which required subjects to respond to whether they would perform these functions and the degree to which they would perform them. In effect, subjects’ answers are assessed in terms of the proximity or distance of their responses from the responses made by stars or quitter/failures. The best answers are closest to how star teachers respond. The poorest answers are closest to how quitter/failure teachers respond.

The interview predicts who will remain in teaching in highly bureaucratic school systems, relate positively to diverse students in poverty and be effective versus those who will quit or fail. This interview is now used in over 220 major urban school districts any of which can provide additional evidence of its predictive validity.

The Star Teacher Selection Interview boasts a 95% accuracy rate in predicting which teachers will stay and succeed and which ones will fail or quit. High success rates result from the ability of the scenario-based interview to give a clear picture of the candidate’s beliefs about teaching at risk youth, and to predict how a candidate will behave on the job; which ones will be able to handle the stress, the discipline the unmotivated students and those who learn differently.

 

 

Validity and Reliability of the Star Teacher Selection Interview: The instrument was developed by identifying factors which discriminate between quitters/failures and stars. “Quitters/failures” are those who have left urban teaching with unsatisfactory ratings from supervisors or who describe themselves as unable to continue teaching. “Stars” are urban teachers identified as such by principals, other teachers, students, and themselves. The level at which discriminating factors were accepted in developing the instrument was total: that is, the number of quitters/failures who passed the interview was zero. The number of stars who passed was 100%. Since 1962, groups of stars and quitters/failures have been periodically tested to validate this level of discrimination. No changes have been made to the questions/mid-range functions.

Any test or scale may have a number of validity and reliability coefficients depending on how, when, where, and by whom it is used. Each city using the Interview keeps its own records and compares respondents initial interview scores (prediction) against school principals’ ratings in subsequent teaching practice. Those who pass the interview with any score (that is they avoid a zero on all questions/ mid-range functions) are rated satisfactory or higher by school principals 95% of the time. Another way to state this is that when the instrument is correctly administered by trained interviewers, there is a 5% or 1 in 20 chance of hiring a quitter/failure.

 

The Star Teacher Online Pre-Screener Test:

After years of research, Dr. Haberman was able to determine that the beliefs of great teachers differ greatly from the quote, “quitters and failures” in today’s public schools. His book goes to great lengths to describe the differences between the two sets of beliefs and describes the under girding ideology of the star teachers and their performance in classrooms.

From his on-going research, Dr. Haberman crafted an interview which gets to the heart of what teaching should be for children, especially those who live in poverty. The questions and answers were derived from what the best teachers believe their job will and should be. The interview actually tests the third dimension of working in classrooms. Not content, nor pedagogy, but does the teacher have the capacity to build relationships with children, parents, and school leaders in general.

The online pre-screener is based on the same research as the live interview. Again, questions are based on core beliefs, not content nor pedagogy. It will save time, energy and funds based on the results of the pre-screener; which determines what applicants will do well on the live interview. You can find out about your potential for teaching diverse children in poverty schools by taking the online pre-screener to the Haberman Star Teacher Selection Interview. This is a 50 item, half hour test that you can administer to yourself, in private, on your own computer. Your answers will be rated in terms of how star teachers vs. quitter/failure teachers have responded to the very same questions. At the completion of the test you will get a professional profile that tells you a great deal about your potential for teaching in poverty schools. First, your total score will be compared with everyone else who has taken the test and will tell you the quartile of your total score. In other words, how close your answers were to those of star teachers. Second, your answers will be organized in terms of ten mid-range functions.

 

Dimensions Assessed on the Online Star Teacher Pre-screener

 

  1. Persistence predicts the propensity to work with children who present learning and behavioral problems on a daily basis without giving up on them for the full 180-day work year.
  2. Organization and Planning refers to how and why star teachers plan as well as their ability to manage complex classroom organizations.
  3. Values Student Learning predicts the degree to which the responses reflect a willingness to make student learning the teacher’s highest priority.
  4. Theory to Practice predicts the respondent’s ability to see the practical implications of generalizations as well as the concepts reflected by specific practices.
  5. At-risk Students predicts the likelihood that the respondent will be able to connect with and teach students of all backgrounds and levels.
  6. Approach to Students predicts the way the respondent will attempt to relate to students and the likelihood this approach will be effective.
  7. Survive In Bureaucracy predicts the likelihood that the respondent will be able to function as a teacher in a large depersonalized organization.
  8. Explains Teacher Success deals with criteria the respondent uses to determine teaching success and whether these are relevant to teachers in poverty schools.
  9. Explains Student Success deals with the criteria the respondent uses to determine students’ success and whether these are relevant to students in poverty schools.
  10. Fallibility refers to how the teacher plans to deal with mistakes in the classroom.

 

Star Administrator Selection Interview:

Administrator selection training would occur for an audience specially chosen by the district leadership team.  The one-day Star Administrator Selection Interview training highlights the eleven basic beliefs of effective administrators of schools where students are at risk and in poverty.  These beliefs are outlined in much of the generally accepted literature on school leadership and codified in Martin Haberman’s Star Principals Serving Children in Poverty. One day of training would equip district leaders to understand the rubric and background of Star Administrator Questionnaire. When district administrators understand the ideology of the star principal live interviews, they will fully understand the implications of the online administrator pre-screener results. Both protocols are important to the district’s success.

 

Background and Methodology Undergirding the Development of the Star Administrator Interview: The development of the Star Administrator Selection Interview could not be developed following the same procedures as the star teacher interview. Quitter/failure principals are reluctant to be interviewed for a variety of reasons. Some have been told they will get a good reference if they leave the district quietly. Others are promised other jobs in the district if they keep quiet about the causes of their stepping down. Some have been given lucrative buyouts to leave quietly. Some have relatives who still work in the district and fear retribution, while others save face by claiming they were simply taking early retirement or leaving for health reasons. While classroom teachers fail more quietly in their classrooms, principals fail publicly. Because it is more difficult for them to pretend they have been successful they are reluctant to be interviewed. This limits the number of those who would cooperate in the development of an instrument to those who would not be representative of the total group of quitter/failure principals.

The method used to develop the Star Administrator Selection Interview therefore drew upon both the written knowledge base and the best practice cited by star principals to explain their effectiveness. In this sense, the star administrator methodology was more complete than the process used to develop the star teacher interview.

The Knowledge and Skill Base
The Danforth and the Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge foundations supported a year-long project to summarize the best practice of school principals. The Eli Lilly Foundation also contributed several forms of support and expertise. With the cooperation of all the major professional associations that represent school administrators, the National Policy Board for Educational Administration compiled Principals for Changing Schools: Knowledge and Skill Base. Fairfax,VA: 1992.

The process the group followed was to define the scope of the principal’s role as covering 21 domains of knowledge and skill. Teams of 6-12 academic and practitioner scholars then summarized the knowledge base in each of these domains including critical behaviors to be performed, ways of measuring effectiveness and the supporting bibliography. The domains of the principal’s knowledge and skill base covered were: leadership, information collection, problem analysis, judgment, organizational oversight, implementation, delegation, instruction, curriculum design, guidance, staff development, measurement and evaluation, resources allocation, motivation, interpersonal sensitivity, oral and non-verbal expression, written expression, contextual domains, legal and regulatory applications, policy and political influences, and public relations.

Selecting the Outstanding Principals
The practitioners selected to serve as resources and jurors were drawn from the Milwaukee Public Schools, the Chicago Public Schools and the Houston Independent School District. The method used to identify star principals was as follows. Principals with a minimum of five years of service were evaluated by their superiors on the basis of their demonstrated performance of the following functions: creating a common vision, team building, securing teacher buy in, staff development, instructional leadership, parental and community relations, performing within the contractual obligations of the various unions representing the school staff, implementing innovative programs, budgeting, and garnering resources for their schools. Principals were also asked to evaluate themselves against the same criteria used by their superiors. An anonymous survey was made of assistant principals asking them to assess these same principals on the same criteria. Traditional criteria such as student learning, absenteeism, suspensions, expulsions, and graduation rates were also assessed. All principals identified were leading schools making annual improvement and growth for the preceding five years on these criteria. In addition, some less traditional means were used to select star principals. Surveys of principals identifying colleagues they regarded as stars were used to rank those most frequently named. These surveys were also used to rank principals most frequently cited as being the most desired principal coaches. Finally, supplemental data were collected on those considered as possible stars: these data included, the number of the transfer requests made by teachers in their buildings who had been rated as effective, teacher absenteeism and the degree to which their schools were used after school, weekends and summers. The result of this extensive process yielded 27 star principals in Milwaukee, 36 in Chicago and 18 in Houston.

Developing the Practitioners’ Knowledge Base-
This phase of the work, including the identification of star principals described above, covered a period of three years from 1993 through 1996. Daylong workshops of the 81 star principals were held in each of the three cities. The principals engaged in a process of team deliberations which yielded their perceptions of 14 functions they performed that they believed accounted for their success. They also produced specific behaviors which were behavioral manifestations of each of these functions.

Working with a team of doctoral students in the 1993-94 school year, the 21 domains of the research knowledge base in Principles for Changing Schools were merged with the 14 functions identified by outstanding principals as the explanation for their success. The 21 Milwaukee principals serving as a jury agreed that the merged document preserved the intent and the functions of both the literature and the practitioners’ knowledge bases.

The 1994-95 year was spent developing questions that could assess the functions identified. Through an iterative process trial questions were tested for their ability to orally communicate the functions correctly to a variety of constituencies; principals, acting principals and principals in training. Respondents were not asked to answer the questions but were asked to explain what they believed the question was asking them.

These trials also produced the prompts interviewers might use to ensure that respondents understood and answered the questions being asked. At the end of these year-long trials the questions and prompts were worded so that 100 per cent of English speaking respondents agreed upon what was being asked in the questions.

 

The Star Administrator Online Questionnaire:

Like the online pre-screener, the Star Administrator Questionnaire is based on the same research as the live interview and will determine what applicants will do well on the live interview. The questions are based on the individual’s core beliefs about connecting with teachers, parents, and the community to ensure success of the children and youth of America. It is made up of 104 questions with two possible answers.  The applicant must select the best possible answer and go to the next question. After the applicants have completed the test they will not be able to change any answers.

This questionnaire predicts which candidates will succeed as school administrators serving diverse children and youth in urban/rural poverty in a school district. It analyzes respondents’ answers to thirteen dimensions of school administrators. These dimensions were identified in our studies of star principals who led effective schools in large districts or who turned failing schools into effective ones.

The items represent star administrators’ behaviors and predispositions to act. These actions reflect an ideology regarding the respondents’ beliefs about the nature of effective schooling for diverse children and youth in poverty and the nature of school leadership necessary to create such schools.

This online questionnaire may be used with experienced individuals who are currently principals or with neophytes who are aspiring principals. It is applicable to individuals who have completed state certification requirements to become principals, or individuals from other careers without formal training in teaching or school administration who are seeking to pursue an alternative route to the role of a school leader.

Those typically using this questionnaire are 1) urban or rural school districts seeking to hire new principals 2) school districts seeking to identify effective leaders for failing schools that serve diverse children and youth in poverty and 3) school districts seeking to select individuals for training programs to become principals. Researchers and doctoral students use the questionnaire as a pre and post-test in studies assessing the power of various training programs and other treatments intended to change or develop administrators.

Respondents’ replies are analyzed in terms of the thirteen functions necessary for effective leadership in schools. Respondents’ answers are compared to those of outstanding school principals. The respondent’s profile provides ratings of High, Acceptable and Low on each function. Low indicates a danger zone where the responses red flag an area of weakness and likely failure by the respondent in performing that function. In addition to the respondent’s profile an overall score comparing the respondent to all others who have taken the test is provided.

Dimensions of Effective Urban School Leadership Assessed by the Questionnaire

  1. Sensitive to Diversity/ Insensitive to Diversity

Does the respondent understand the pervasive importance of race, ethnicity, class and gender in the process of interacting with all the constituencies involved in the school community, or does the respondent assume that these differences will not affect his/her leadership? This dimension predicts the respondent’s ability to be perceived as fair and equitable in an urban school serving diverse children, parents and community in poverty.

 

  1. Creates a Common Vision/ Fosters Personal Preferences

Does the respondent have a strong and persisting commitment to creating a common set of goals and objectives for all school staff , or does s/he believe that it is best for each staff member to decide school goals and best practice for him/herself? This dimension predicts the likelihood that the respondent will create the effective work teams and cooperative activities needed for the school to succeed, or simply seek to make individuals happy by following their preferences.

 

  1. Develops Positive Working Climate/ Enforces Rules

Does the respondent appreciate that the leader’s role involves dealing with a complex set of interpersonal relationships, or does s/he see the leader as the final authority in enforcing rules? This dimension predicts the respondent’s potential for creating a positive working climate, or having the school function as a depersonalized bureaucracy.

 

  1. Instructional Leader / Building Manager

Does the respondent place a high priority on the leader’s role in improving teachers’ instructional effectiveness, or does s/he see the leader’s role in controlling and maintaining the building as his/her highest priority? This dimension predicts whether the respondent will function as the school’s leading educator, or as the overseer of the school organization and the physical facility.

 

  1. Data Driven / Idiosyncratic

Does the respondent use data as the primary basis for setting school policies and procedures or does s/he use school traditions, personal charisma or pleasing staff as the basis for instituting school policies and practices? This dimension predicts the ability of the respondent to increase the effectiveness of the school in achievement, attendance, suspensions and in other critical areas where the data is readily available. Questions 89-96.

 

  1. Product Evaluation / Process Evaluation

Does the respondent focus on results as the fundamental criterion of success, or does s/he believe that procedures followed can be used as the criterion of success? This dimension predicts whether the respondent will maintain a focus on improved learning as the ultimate value to be preserved, or whether the programs in his/her school will be evaluated on the basis of procedures followed and how the programs are implemented.

 

  1. Personal Accountability / Others Accountability

Does the respondent understand and accept the need for the school principal to bear personal accountability for student learning and other measures of school success, or does s/he believe it is the role of the principal to ensure that only others are held accountable for various aspects of the school’s program? This dimension predicts the respondent’s willingness to hold him/herself accountable for people and processes which s/he cannot completely control.

 

  1. Responsible Leader / Delegator

Does the respondent understand the leader’s role to be primarily one in which s/he will be the responsible authority for performing major functions, or does s/he believe that the leader’s role is primarily one of delegating as much as possible to others and overseeing their work? This dimension predicts not only the respondent’s leadership style but the degree to which s/he perceives the school leader as directly and personally responsible.

 

  1. Expanded Principal’s Role / Traditional Principal’s Role

Does the respondent understand that the effective urban school principal is the leader of a community based, non-profit organization, does s/he see the role of principal as limited to his/her role and status in the urban school district bureaucracy? This dimension predicts the respondent’s propensity to connect the school with the resources needed to serve diverse children in urban poverty, or to be limited to only the district’s budget, personnel and resources.

 

  1. Bottom-up Representative / Top-down Representative

Does the respondent perceive his/her role as primarily representing the needs of the school upward to superiors, or does s/he interpret the role of the principal as primarily representing the mandates and policies of the system downward to the staff? This dimension predicts whether the respondent will protect and enhance effective practices in his/her school or simply follow orders.

 

  1. Parents with Voice / Parents as Helpers

Does the respondent understand the need for parents, caregivers and community to be involved in the life of the school as participants with voice, input and even power, or does s/he see the value of these constituencies as essentially supporters of the school program? This dimension predicts the likelihood that the respondent will seek to involve parents and community as genuine partners, or limit them to homework helpers and visitors.

 

  1. Client Advocate / Staff Advocate

Does the respondent understand the principal’s role as an advocate of children, parents and community, or does s/he see the “good” principal as one who only supports teachers and staff in problem and conflict situations? This dimension predicts the respondent’s ability to implement the school’s commitment to serve diverse students and families in poverty and simultaneously represent the professional staff.

 

  1. Problem Solver / Reactor

Does the respondent perceive the role of school leader to be primarily one of active involvement in problem solving, or does s/he see the principal as the legal authority making final decisions from options presented to him/her? This dimension predicts whether the respondent will be a dynamic, creative leader, or whether s/he will passively wait for problems and solutions to be presented to him/her.

 

Comprehensive Proposal of Services

 

Haberman Star Teacher Selection: 

The Haberman Educational Foundation (HEF) proposes to train principal teams consisting of a principal and assistant/associate principal.  Several additional teams would include school improvement/Human Resource personnel who recruit nationally and internationally.  Teams are flexible and may be designed to fit specific needs by the superintendent or an appropriate designee.  Intense, district saturation training such as proposed here is a formidable force focusing on the power of personnel selection.  With the one day of intensive training, a team or pair representing every individual school would be prepared to interview teacher candidates.  Subsequently, a tremendous number of individuals would be 1) speaking a common language, the language of “core beliefs” of star teachers; 2) knowledgeable about the core beliefs of the teachers whose students achieve the most and stay in school; 3) articulate in pedagogy designed specifically to meet the needs of at-risk youth.  When principals understand the ideology of the star teacher live interview, they will fully understand the implications of the online teacher pre-screener results which goes hand in hand with the interview protocol, thus, changing the culture of hiring in the school district.

 

The Star Teacher Online Pre-Screener Test:

After years of research, Dr. Haberman was able to determine that the beliefs of great teachers differ greatly from the quote, “quitters and failures” in today’s public schools. His book goes to great lengths to describe the differences between the two sets of beliefs and describes the under girding ideology of the star teachers and their performance in classrooms.

From his on-going research, Dr. Haberman crafted an interview which gets to the heart of what teaching should be for children, especially those who live in poverty. The questions and answers were derived from what the best teachers believe their job will and should be. The interview actually tests the third dimension of working in classrooms. Not content, nor pedagogy, but does the teacher have the capacity to build relationships with children, parents, and school leaders in general.

The online pre-screener is based on the same research as the live interview. Again, questions are based on core beliefs, not content nor pedagogy. It will save time, energy and funds based on the results of the pre-screener; which determines what applicants will do well on the live interview. You can find out about your potential for teaching diverse children in poverty schools by taking the online pre-screener to the Haberman Star Teacher Selection Interview. This is a 50 item, half hour test that you can administer to yourself, in private, on your own computer. Your answers will be rated in terms of how star teachers vs. quitter/failure teachers have responded to the very same questions. At the completion of the test you will get a professional profile that tells you a great deal about your potential for teaching in poverty schools. First, your total score will be compared with everyone else who has taken the test and will tell you the quartile of your total score. In other words, how close your answers were to those of star teachers. Second, your answers will be organized in terms of ten mid-range functions.

 

Haberman Star Administrator Selection:

Administrator selection training would occur for an audience specially chosen by the district leadership team.  The one-day Star Administrator Selection Interview training highlights the eleven basic beliefs of effective administrators of schools where students are at risk and in poverty. These beliefs are outlined in much of the generally accepted literature on school leadership and codified in Martin Haberman’s Star Principals Serving Children in Poverty. One day of training would equip district leaders to understand the rubric and background of the online Star Administrator Questionnaire. When district leaders understand the ideology of the Star Administrator live interviews, they will fully understand the implications of the online administrator pre-screener results. Both protocols are important to the district’s success. The HEF online pre-screeners are elegantly simple to use and maintain.  Because it is web-based, individuals have access 24/7 to online services scores automatically upon completion of the test.

 

The Star Administrator Online Questionnaire:

Like the online pre-screener, the Star Administrator Questionnaire is based on the same research as the live interview and will determine what applicants will do well on the live interview. The questions are based on the individual’s core beliefs about connecting with teachers, parents, and the community to ensure success of the children and youth of America. It is made up of 104 questions with two possible answers.  The applicant must select the best possible answer and go to the next question. After the applicant has completed the test they will not be able to change any answers.

This questionnaire predicts which candidates will succeed as school administrators serving diverse children and youth in urban/rural poverty in a school district. It analyzes respondents’ answers to thirteen dimensions of school administrators. These dimensions were identified in our studies of star principals who led effective schools in large districts or who turned failing schools into effective ones.

The items represent star administrators’ behaviors and predispositions to act. These actions reflect an ideology regarding the respondents’ beliefs about the nature of effective schooling for diverse children and youth in poverty and the nature of school leadership necessary to create such schools.

This online questionnaire may be used with experienced individuals who are currently principals or with neophytes who are aspiring principals. It is applicable to individuals who have completed state certification requirements to become principals, or individuals from other careers without formal training in teaching or school administration who are seeking to pursue an alternative route to the role of a school leader.

Those typically using this questionnaire are 1) urban or rural school districts seeking to hire new principals 2) school districts seeking to identify effective leaders for failing schools that serve diverse children and youth in poverty and 3) school districts seeking to select individuals for training programs to become principals. Researchers and doctoral students use the questionnaire as a pre- and post-test in studies assessing the power of various training programs and other treatments intended to change or develop administrators.

Respondents’ replies are analyzed in terms of the thirteen functions necessary for effective leadership in schools. Respondents’ answers are compared to those of outstanding school principals. The respondent’s profile provides ratings of High, Acceptable and Low on each function. Low indicates a danger zone where the responses red flag an area of weakness and likely failure by the respondent in performing that function. In addition to the respondent’s profile an overall score comparing the respondent to all others who have taken the test is provided.

 

Teacher /Administrator Selection Training for the Live Interview: Trainees have an opportunity to see on video, a candidate interviewed who gives an answer to the question that is not a star answer.  This candidate has only one solution for any problem that may arise in the classroom and is not persistent in problem solving.

 

Then the trainee sees several examples of a “star” answer on the item called “persistence.”  The trainee hears a star candidate give five or six possible solutions to a problem behavior exhibited by a student.  This behavior, “persistent problem-solving,” is a critical and indispensable characteristic of an effective teacher of youth at risk.  Star teachers see it as their job to be persistent; it’s not an option, it’s what they do as part of the job of teaching.

 

In a similar fashion, all seven Star Teacher characteristics/behaviors or “midrange functions” are taught at the teacher training and all eleven Star Administrator “midrange functions” are taught at the principal training.  Trainees practice each question with one another and experience feedback from instructors and one another; they then switch roles and practice listening and reflecting on the answers.  Feedback is immediate.

 

At the conclusion of both the teacher and administrator interview training, there is a proficiency test that ensures inter-rater reliability.  When principals and key leaders are trained, a full understanding of the pre-screener results will emerge and the complete selection protocol will become systemically research-based.

 

 

Materials: All trainees of the Star Teacher Selection Interview receive a training manual which includes the interview questions and scoring procedures, plus continua rating forms which can be duplicated by the district at no extra cost. In addition, they receive Dr. Haberman’s publication, Star Teachers: The Ideology and Best Practice of Effective Teachers of Diverse Children and Youth in Poverty.

 

All trainees of the Star Administrator Selection Interview receive a training manual which includes the interview questions and scoring procedures, plus continua rating forms which can be duplicated by the district at no extra cost. In addition, they receive Dr. Haberman’s publication, Star Principals Serving Children in Poverty.

 

 

Hosting Options: The HEF National Trainers travel to school districts nationally to conduct the training events. Districts generally host HEF at their staff development training sites. Access to technology for videos and power point presentations should be available. HEF ships all training materials prior to the training date.

 

 

 

Test are good until all have been used.

The pre-screeners and the live Haberman interviews go hand in hand and the Foundation leaders believe that using both, provide an accurate picture of an applicant’s core beliefs about leading a school and/or teaching.

Pre-screener test scoring is immediate, and school districts have access to all applicant information with purchase of the test.
Pre-screener test may be charged to the applicant, with no charge to the district