New CMS teacher hiring project raising eyebrows

Everybody knows Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has been laying off teachers here of late. That's why some people want to know why a national non-profit group that helps school systems find teachers is setting up shop in Charlotte this spring and is currently advertising for a $70,000-a-year coordinator to help recruit up to 100 teachers annually for CMS. The group, called The New Teacher Project, says it operates in more than two dozen cities, helping school systems end educational inequality by helping recruit effective teachers and by advancing best practices in effective teaching.

Some observers have asked why CMS would be getting involved in this kind of project at a time when its laying off so many existing teachers. "How does this look politically and to the public?" one person wrote in the comments section to an Observer story.

The answer, says school system spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry, is that CMS isn't trying to hire outsiders to replace laid-off teachers. She said CMS is in a partnership with The New Teacher Project to help plug vacancies in hard-to-fill subject areas such as math, science and teaching exceptional children. She said CMS still has vacancies in those areas, despite the fact that so many laid-off teachers are looking for jobs. The New Teacher Project has expertise in finding non-traditional candidates for the jobs, she said. It gives them intensive training that helps them get licensed to teach and become effective educators.

I'm still awaiting details on how many such positions are open now in CMS, and on what the contractual arrangements are between CMS and The New Teacher Project. Will update when I get them.