This fascinating new report starts with the well-known fact that poor, urban, and minority classrooms are less apt to be staffed by highly qualified teachers, then challenges the conventional wisdom that such people generally shun jobs in "hard to staff" places. Turns out that's not true. Plenty of well-prepared and qualified teachers APPLY for such teaching posts. But they don't get hired. Why? Because urban districts don't make up their minds about which new teachers they want to hire until mid-summer, by which time the really good candidates-who have plenty of options-have already taken jobs elsewhere. Why are urban districts so tardy? First, departing teachers (who create vacancies by leaving) don't even notify their employers until early summer. Second, teacher union contracts give other senior teachers within the system the right of first refusal, which further delays the posting of vacancies and selection of replacements from outside the system. Third, states and districts make budget decisions so late in the year that those doing the hiring often don't know until the last minute whether they will have the money to hire people. Fascinating stuff. You can find it on the web (complete with two case studies and a number of recommendations) at http://www.tntp.org/docs/reportfinal9-12.pdf.
