“I found [Aragon’s job] posting in the middle of August,” says Spanish teacher Ben Ho. Unlike most teachers, whose hiring process begins many weeks before the school year starts, Ho was hired a couple weeks into the 2011-2012 school year to replace Spanish teacher Giselle Hunter.
Ho was interviewed by Assistant Principal Jim Coe, Principal Pat Kurtz and Heads of Spanish Department Nicole Elenz-Martin and Luisa Hardy. Coe questioned Ho about cross-curriculum, and Kurtz wanted to know about how Ho would handle diversity. Elenz-Martin asked about the use of technology, while Hardy focused on teaching native Spanish speakers. Ho then gave a sample lesson to Elenz-Martin’s Advanced Placement Spanish class.
Ho says, “I was called back maybe a few days later and offered the position.” It was already a few weeks into the school year. Ho says, “That’s a very difficult position to be in. You didn’t start the year with the students… It was a period of great adjustment.”
For San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) teachers, their time at Aragon typically begins at a website called edjoin, where teaching positions are posted. SMUHSD decides when Aragon can post positions for jobs.
Math Teacher Chelsea Rees, who joined the Aragon community this year, says, “I saw the posting for the job and was very excited because I’ve heard really good things about the school and about the school district.” Rees, who was hired in May, did not give a demonstration lesson.
Junior Maria Mendoza says, “The sample lesson does tell a lot about a teacher [and] the way they teach.”
Junior Yuki Chin agrees, saying, “I don’t think you can know that much about a teacher unless you see that teacher in a working classroom.”
Assistant Principal Jim Coe says, “It’s always a good idea to take someone with three to five years of experience. They have a good sense of how long things take, what works, what doesn’t work.”
Mendoza says, “Experience [should] be one part of [the hiring process], but at the same time [teachers] have to be willing to try new things. They have to also be flexible.”
The hiring process also takes into account tenure. Once a teacher gets tenure, which takes between two to five years, he or she is granted greater job security within SMUHSD. Teachers sometimes transfer from school to school within the district.
For instance, English teacher Patricia Riek transferred from Capuchino High School to Aragon this school year. Riek says, “There were several different reasons that caused the opening. There was a teacher who took a partial assignment at the district office.” Also, the Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) is trying to limit freshmen and sophomore English classes to 25 students, so there are more jobs available.
Positions for non-core classes, such as music, were posted in March of this year. This year, a new music teacher will be selected to replace orchestra and choir director David Martin, who is retiring.
Principal Pat Kurtz says, “We [will probably] bring from five to six candidates [for Martin’s job] in and ask them to go through an interview. If it’s early enough we can do classroom demonstrations. If it’s not, we try and do a pseudo, a mock, system for doing [a demonstration lesson] in an interview. But hopefully we’re going out early enough this year that we can actually have the teacher give a lesson.”
The application process ended on April 9, and applications still have to be paper-screened. Potential candidates for Martin’s job have come in to observe and, in some cases, teach classes; however, no official demonstrations have begun.
Sophomore Wesley Lee says, “[The new music teacher has] to be able to work and conduct and be patient because, of course, we are big groups and there are a lot of people.”
A replacement teacher will also have to be found for Math teacher Rich Serrao, who is leaving Aragon after this year. However, Aragon High School is not yet allowed to post hiring positions for core positions, including math teachers. Coe says, “The district has to give the okay for the posting because there might be some movement [of teachers] within the district.”
Coe says, “It’s an extensive process. The teacher potentially affects the lives of 165 students… You don’t want to make a mistake.”
