1. education
2. school

Program:
Course:
Johns Hopkins University Graduate Certificate in Administration and Supervision
Supervision and Professional Development
Six Types of Teachers
Recruiting, Retaining, and Mentoring the Best
Fiore and Whitaker discuss six types of teachers in a building that can be generalized into three major
categories (Irreplaceables, Solids, and Replacement Level). These are of course generalizations
but see if you can identify the teachers on your staff that fall into these general areas.
1. IRREPLACEABLES
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The most talented of your teachers.
If they happen to leave your building, there is little chance of replacing them.
These are the teachers that parents seek out for their children.
Students would rate these teachers as absolutely the best.
As the supervisor or leader, you would rate them as the best.
5 to 10% of the staff.
The Wows
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Leads the staff in a positive manner
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Has earned the respect of peers in the building and the county
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Has a knack of teaching teachers; helping them to become more effective; a
teacher of teachers
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Has a richly positive effect on students
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Makes the entire school a better place to learn and work
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At the highest risk to leave the school; a school-wide loss because of the
leadership vacuum it creates
The Impacters
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Just as talented as WOW, but the impact is limited to just the students
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May be considered the best classroom teacher in school or county
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Willingness to do extracurricular activities make them effective beyond the
classroom
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Should this teacher leave the school, parents may miss this person the most
because of the overall impact on the students
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These teachers may elicit some jealousy from staff because of how they are
viewed by the parents and community
2. THE SOLIDS
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The largest group of teachers; 80-80% of the staff
These are the “yeomen” of the teaching staff
They are dependable, hardworking contributors to the total school community
Do a pretty good job in the classroom most of the time
Lack that certain spark that would make them irreplaceable
Many of them can be “taught” and “led” to become an irreplaceable
Stabilizers
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What you see is what you get
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You always know what to expect of them
Fiore, Douglas, and Whitaker, Todd. (2005). Six Types of Teachers Recruiting, Retaining, and Mentoring the Best. Eye on Education.
Larchmont, NY.
Program:
Course:
Johns Hopkins University Graduate Certificate in Administration and Supervision
Supervision and Professional Development
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They are consistent in whatever they do; overall pretty good in the classroom, on
the coaching fields, with clubs
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Dow Jonesers
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A phrase coined by Dick Vitale (20 points in one game and 6 in another)
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Their talent varies depending upon the task – perhaps good in the classroom but
totally disorganized
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They might teach well for three quarters but run out of steam in the fourth quarter
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Supervisors must look for the peaks and valleys displayed and seek to limit the
distance between the “highs and lows”
3. THE REPLACEMENT LEVEL
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Barely in the major leagues
Bottom 5-10% of the staff
If one of them left, you could almost certainly do better and most likely quite a bit better
Harmless (but not really!)
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Not very good, but stops short of being a negative force
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Seldom has parent complaints or office referrals but does little to encourage
learning
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Contributes little or nothing but does not get in the way
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Provides an audience for the negative leaders
Negative forces
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“Addition by subtraction”—if they left, the school would be better off
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Negativity surfaces in working with kids, supervising other staff, griping in faculty
room
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Leaves a trace where ever they go (like a slug)
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Often draws in others
Think About . . .
• Can you think of any additional categories that are not represented here?
• If you were hiring staff, could you identify these people in an interview? How might you do
that?
• If they are on staff, what supervisory strategies would you use to keep the irreplaceables?
How would you handle the replacement? In today’s limited supply of teachers would you take
a gamble in going through the “evaluate out” process with the negative replacements?
• What supervisory strategies might you use to “improve” the solids?
Fiore, Douglas, and Whitaker, Todd. (2005). Six Types of Teachers Recruiting, Retaining, and Mentoring the Best. Eye on Education.
Larchmont, NY.