Schools

New Teachers Undergo Facebook Check in NCPS Pilot Program

Administrators use every tool at their fingertips to assess new teachers.

 

After the fingerprinting and background checks, the reference calls and personal interviews, New Canaan Assistant Superintendent of Schools Steve Swerdlick put each of this year's prospective schoolteachers through one final test:  He visited their Facebook pages.

Swerdlick said he's determined to use every tool available as he strives to hire qualified teachers for New Canaan's students.  So far, 25 new teachers have been hired for the school year that will begin later this month.

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"I'm no Facebook expert," Swerdlick said.  "We just started the practice about two weeks ago. To be honest, we're piloting this for the next couple weeks, to see whether it's effective."

Many of the checks a public school teacher goes through before being hired are state requirements that apply to anyone working in a school.  But following the recent news about a former Weston school bus driver who was arrested for harassment and Internet crimes, it's clear that the challenges facing employers to cover all the bases, requires dexterity and vigilance.

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Swerdlick is trying to figure out how to use the information he finds on the social media site, and is mindful of the privacy issues surrounding its use.

"Some choose to make their information private, in which case we can't get any data," he said. "We've had occasions where people are more open, but we haven't found anything that would make us want to terminate anyone." 

What kinds of behaviors is he finding with the more "open" pages?  "Oh, I've seen one or two cases where we've seen people hoisting a bottle of beer," he said.

Swerdlick and his staff have advised teachers and other school employees to be mindful of what they're putting onto public websites. "We do try to warn employees to use good judgment in terms of what they put up on their websites and Facebook accounts," he said.

Swerdlick  takes pride in having a good hiring record with school personnel.  He gives the faculty a lot of credit for their high standards in and out of the classroom. 

"A big part is us being vigilant.  If someone is not going to be right, we don't hire them.  If someone is not as good as we thought, we don't renew them," he said. "But we're not resting on our laurels.  We've got to be vigilant all the time."

The new social media has given Swerdlick another tool to use as he assesses new hires.  And if he determines it's an effective way to gather additional information about a new teacher?

"At that point we may say, let's do all our current employees," Swerdlick said. 

Several calls to the Connecticut Education Association, which advocates for teachers and public school education, were not returned before this article was posted.


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