Top 30 Interview Questions – From a recruiters hiring playbook
Interviews for Top Jobs at New York City Department of Education
Assistant Principal Interview
I interviewed at New York City Department of Education
Interview
The C-30 process is not a fair process at all. They already have selected the person they want to hire and only interview other candidates to uphold the farce that the process is fair. When you apply to posts, you discover people have already been internally hired, but the job posting website does not reflect that. I had knowledge on more than one occasion of a post being created for a job that was already given to someone else, just so it would appear the post was available to all. This is a common practice in DOE schools- and everyone knows it, including the people who are supposed to ensure the process is legitimate, but no one does anything about it.
- Typical on the job scenario questions
Guidelines for Conducting the C-30 Process for Assistant Principal Positions Remotely Due to COVID-19
Pursuant to amendments to Chancellor’s Regulation C-30 in effect as of August 1, 2019, additional steps in the C-30 process apply for principal selection. Such steps, along with guidelines for conducting the C-30 principal selection process remotely, are set forth below:
The Chairperson should ensure that the Interim Acting principal recuses themselves from the C-30 process.
Education, Math, Teaching, New York, Bronx, Union, Language, Travel
C-30 is the process by which principals and assistant principals are permanently appointed to schools. The process involves parent, teacher, school staff, administrator union, and Department of Education (through Region, District etc) personnel. (Before a principal or assistant principal is permanently appointed, the DoE often appoints an Interim Acting (IA) principal or assistant principal.)
I don’t know how long C-30 has been around (15 years?) or when it changed (3 years ago) but the change was dramatic.
The part of the C-30 that most of us hear about is the Level I Committee. The Level I includes representatives of all the different groups mentioned above, including two UFTers. It interviews the candidates. I have served on 5 (or is it 6) Level I’s. And with the changed regulations, they have become a waste of teachers’ time.
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Under the old C-30 regulation, the level I committee would look through resumes and choose which to interview. Then the committee would interview several candidates, and forward recommendations to the appropriate Superintendant, who had the final decision.
Under the new C-30, the Superintendant chooses the candidates to be interviewed, the Level I Committee interviews, and then it is up to the Superintendant whether or not to pay attention to the results of the interview.
In practical terms, the Level I Committee never could actually choose the principal, but it could eliminate unacceptable candidates. And sometimes, it did. Now the ability to eliminate candidates is gone. The Level I Committee has been reduced to window-dressing. I know of one Level that unanimously, except the superintendant’s designee, recommended one candidate and rejected the Interim Acting. The Superintendant ignored the committee and appointed the IA.
Even when the process was open, the jobs usually just went to the Interim Acting. In all the Level I’s I’ve been on, only one was for a genuinely open position, and even then we knew who the successful candidate would be in advance; the principal’s choice for APO was widely known. In another case, what should have been a hotly contested process turned to a joke when one of the candidates had charges preferred against him, and left the system in a rush. I have always wondered about those circumstances.
So, in the past the C-30 had limited power, sort of a veto. And now it has no power at all. What should we do? I like the idea that teachers have some control over administrative hiring. I would hate to give up on the concept. But now we do not have that control. If anything, by participating in C-30’s we give collaborative window-dressing to an autocratic process.
As individuals, we would be fools to say we won’t play ball. A C-30 comes up in your school tomorrow, you have to put people on there. But as a union should we say, “We want to be involved in the hiring process, but we won’t waste our members’ time unless we have some real input”? or “We don’t think it is a productive use of our members’ time to serve on C-30’s under the current regulations. We would like to ask our members to serve, but the regulation will need to be revised for that to resume”?
Review and Confirm Selection Criteria and Interview Questions
Prior to convening the Level I Committee, the Chairperson should:
- Committee members may sign confidentiality forms using one of the following methods:
- Electronically sign and date and then return. (preferred method) Print, sign and take a picture of the confidentiality form and email the picture to the Chairperson.
- If none of the above steps are feasible, a committee member may send an email attaching the confidentiality form and containing the following statements in the body of the email:
- Position Title:
- School:
- District:
- I received the attached confidentiality form and understand and agree to its contents. My typed name below shall serve as my signature and attestation to the terms of the confidentiality agreement.
- Name:
The Level I and Level II Interviews are being conducted remotely during the period of remote learning due to COVID-19. The committee may use a DOE-approved platform, such as:
Once superintendents have received approval from OFDC to proceed to the SLT consultation, they should note the following additional steps:
- Electronically sign and date and then return. (preferred method)
- Print, sign and take a picture of the confidentiality form and email the picture to the Chairperson.
- Position Title [insert]:
- School [insert]:
- District [insert]:
- I received the attached confidentiality form and understand and agree to its contents. My typed name below shall serve as my signature and attestation to the terms of the confidentiality agreement.
- Name:
- Note: Due to ongoing security concerns, it is not advisable to use Zoom for C-30s.
FAQ
What is the c30 process?
How do I prepare for an assistant principal interview?
- What kind of teaching experience do you have? …
- What kind of impact would you like to have on this school? …
- What is your leadership style? …
- How have you helped teachers and students improve in the past? …
- What advice would you give to first-year teachers?
What makes a strong assistant principal?
What is the most important role of an assistant principal?
Assist the school principal in overall administration of instructional program and campus level operations. Coordinate assigned student activities and services.
