About this Course

The purpose of this course is to help school leaders improve their ability to use data to make decisions about teacher talent management. In this course the term talent management refers to . teacher hiring, assignment of teachers to classes and grade levels , professional development  and teacher support, and teacher renewal and dismissal decisions. The hypothesis guiding our initial research was that principals who receive training and guidance in these areas would become better talent managers, specifically with regards to their ability to (1) use technology to aid talent management decision making, (2) make better use of their time, and (3) establish expectations and norms that increase trust in the use of the data for these decisions. With this course, we  make the research accessible and engaging to to develop talent management skills and practices for  school leaders.

The course is grounded in the research done by a team of experienced researchers in the field of principal effectiveness and school improvement: Ellen Goldring, Jason Grissom, Marisa Cannata, Timothy Drake, Mollie Rubin, Christine Neumerski, and Patrick Schuermann. It was co-developed with school district partners and a technical assistance partner.

The course is comprised of four modules: 1) strategic hiring, (2) strategic assignment, (3) strategic support and professional development, and (4) strategic retention. There are recommended readings and assignments within each module. The course can be completed either by individual educators or by groups of school leaders.