Maureen Lonergan

Unit 2 Reflection

Unit 2 has been directly applicable to my current position as science department

chairperson, motivated me to prepare to network and recruit well when I am a school
leader, and has encouraged me to further explore my schools interview organization.
My role as department chair this year has had challenges and situations that seem to
follow the progression of this human capital management course! During Unit 2, I had a
teacher decide to go on leave for the rest of the semester because her husband died.
Subsequently, I had the opportunity to be a part of a search for a science substitute. This
would be my first experience being on the other side of professional interviews. I found
that my school was prepared with the job description and the places to spread the word
about the position. The administrative assistant in the Principals Office posted the position
on several websites, and she notified the archdiocese HR department. This all went fairly
smoothly. Unfortunately, not many applicants came in for the science position. As of today,
only four people applied for the temporary position. One was well-qualified. We decided to
bring her in for an interview. I asked the former department chair and the assistant
principal for our set of common questions for interviews. I was surprised that we do not
have a set of questions for interviews! I have found that my school is usually systematized,
but in this relatively simple and fundamental way, we are seemingly unstructured. I
decided to prepare my own set of questions for the interview using the resources from this
course! I was especially grateful for the articles that listed many different questions. It is
gratifying to have my Notre Dame schoolwork coincide so well with my real job work. I
shared the questions with the administrator who was interviewing the applicant with me.
She informed me that the questions were good, but that this process for a temporary sub
would be different than a regular hire. During the interview, I felt that the administrator
talked too much. I still had questions for the teacher at the end of the interview and I

worried that we rambled. The administrator told me that for a short leave we are
essentially looking for someone who will just be able to follow directions and sub plans. The
applicant came back for a tour and shadow day, but unfortunately, turned us down for a
position at another school that goes until the end of the year, not just the semester. There
are some practical and real insights and skills gained from Unit 2 that I used in my current
role as department chair.
We still do not have the leave position filled. The classes are being covered from
within the science department, but because of the lab schedule, there is some
inconsistency for students with different teachers covering at times. It is not ideal. I have
felt the burden myself because I am covering two of the classes. Because of all of this and
what I learned in Unit 2, I feel motivated when I am a school leader to hone a professional
network that will allow for abundant recruiting. I noticed that a structured interview process
is a good thing, but not having applicants to interview is a major problem. When I am a
school leader, I want to make sure that networking and recruiting are top priorities. It has
become clear through Unit 2 that the hiring process is important for the culture of schools.
The impact of hiring a teacher has financial and cultural implications for the school. I
understand that it may be necessary to wait for the right teacher to hire, but as a school
leader, I want to make sure that I attract and recruit ample applicants for positions so that
we can get the right people in the right jobs!
Finally, I want to further explore my schools interview organization and carry forward
the idea that even interviewing and hiring has best practices supported by research. I see
an opportunity within my school to create more structure around the interviewing process.
We do not have set questions for teachers in general, or for the science department in
particular. I feel that some of the resources from this unit may help me create some
structure for the science department hiring process. To start, I would like to bring back a

hiring committee of teachers. Then, I want to carry forward a general idea about researchbased decisions and practices. Like teaching, there is research done to reveal best
practices for leading a school. I want to carry this general theme forward as I continue to
learn what it takes to be a school leader. Every decision counts, from the instructional
decisions, to who to hire, to how to manage a budget to reflect the schools goals. I was
surprised in this Unit 2 to find that even recruiting, interviewing, and hiring has research to
back up some foundational practices.