May the best teacher win

Jamie Boardman went before a committee at Hall Elementary in Minneapolis last spring, armed with a résumé and letters of recommendation.

Why not compete for the teaching job of her choice, Boardman figured, instead of waiting for a number on the seniority list to come up?

She wanted to be at Hall, a North Side elementary with a challenging International Baccalaureate program and one of two schools in Minneapolis with the power to select their own staffs.

After a 45-minute interview and an anxious two-week wait, Boardman got the news: She was hired.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking. But I thought, 'What have I got to lose?'" said Boardman, a teacher for 19 years, 17 of them in Minneapolis.

Boardman's experience offers a preview of what other Minneapolis teachers can expect from the school district's new internal hiring process. The system, which allows principals and others to select who gets job openings, is used widely in other school districts. But until now, Minneapolis has relied largely on seniority to fill teacher vacancies.

Although they ratified a new contract that allows the change by more than a 2-1 margin last week, many teachers still worry about the power it gives principals.

District officials believe the change will create stable teaching staffs that are essential to improving achievement, especially at struggling schools.

Robert Panning-Miller, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, said teachers don't necessarily agree.

"It does not address stability. That's the bottom line," he said. "Instability happens because of staff reductions, layoffs and school closings, none of which are undone or prevented as a result of interview-and-select."

Panning-Miller said teachers approved the contract because many disliked the prospect of a walkout more than they disliked the hiring change and small salary increase.

Should teachers be afraid?

Anita Kangas, a second-grade teacher at Hall with nine years of experience, said: "I understand there's some fear, but I think the only people who should be afraid are those who don't like what they're doing and are just hanging in there for job security."

Kangas is among a litany of teachers who, even with years of experience, would likely not get a crack at preferred openings because they're not high enough on seniority lists.

Under the new system, a school committee, which will include the principal, an administrator and at least two teachers, will interview a group of 10 teachers -- five with the most seniority and five deemed qualified. If a consensus choice can't be reached, the principal will have final say.

Teachers with seniority will no longer have "carte blanche tickets" to choose where they want to go, said school board member Lydia Lee, who calls the change "phenomenal."

"It's not about how long you've been in the system; it's about your skills," said Lee, the board's new chairwoman. "Why would you be skeptical if you are a good teacher? If you are good, you will be in demand."

"I got my job because I was the right fit for it," she said. "My feeling is I'm determined to be a Minneapolis Public Schools teacher and determined to work in an urban setting. I'm needed here."

'They want to be here'

That's a philosophy Hall Principal Bennice Young said all members of her staff subscribe to.

"They feel the expectations and the commitment right away," she said. "There's a rhythm and hum. They're not forced to be here. They want to be here."

While questions about the new process are tapering off, Panning-Miller said, he expects them to escalate in the spring when bidding for open jobs begins. Undoubtedly, he said, the No. 1 question will be: "Exactly how will this work again?"

They did. Hall made "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind act for two consecutive years. Whittier made progress three years in a row. Last year, however, both schools were back on the state's underperforming schools list.

Young said there already was an unspoken mission at Hall -- a school that starts teaching students Mandarin Chinese in pre-kindergarten -- to shake that "underperforming" tag.

Kangas agrees. After receiving her share of pink slips from the district, she has appreciated knowing where she will likely teach next year and perhaps for years to come.

On her way back to class last week, she hugged second-grader Clarence Benford, 8, as he was heading home.

"You have a good day," Kangas said, squeezing tightly. "And we'll see you tomorrow, OK!"