Newark Public Schools Interview Questions
& Process

I was interviewed by the first principal who contacted me. I should have waited to hear from a school I really wanted to work for. I didn't know anything about the school I was hired for, and it turned out to be one of the worst experiences of my life. I know everyone's experience is different. The interview itself wasn't very rigorous. They just wanted to confirm I could start in September. I said the right things and they didn't seem very picky.

The recruiting program in Newark is known to be tough, and many applicants don't see it as their first choice, often considering it a backup plan, which was my case. The district isn't known for outstanding pay. They should aim to make a good impression during interviews. I arrived ten minutes early but was told I was late, indicating poor communication between the scheduler and the principal. The principal then left me in a room for 10-20 minutes, returned, and sat in silence reading my resume for about 30 minutes. It was quite uncomfortable. I was then asked to do a demo lesson, with the explicit instruction that no intervention would be provided if a child misbehaved. Given my decade-plus of experience in teaching, supervision, and training, I found this unprofessional, especially as an interviewing teacher wouldn't know about individual student needs (like IEPs) or school behavior policies. Some schools intentionally create disruptive situations during demo lessons to test interviewees, which is stressful. In this interview, a principal and two mentor teachers observed my lesson. My specialty is creative arts, so I had the children moving for a language arts activity. While this lesson usually goes well, many students didn't listen, partly because the teacher's attention system differed from my own. This led to wasted time trying to adapt. The observers provided an observation review afterwards, which felt unnecessary. I was criticized for saying a noun is a 'person, place, AND thing' instead of 'person, place, OR thing,' and for allegedly endangering the children by letting them move. The children were restless but not in danger; they were simply moving as kids do. The principal's condescending tone was offensive, and I wouldn't want to work in a district that treats its teachers this way. Despite my lesson not going perfectly, their interviewing skills were extremely poor. I ended up accepting an admin position at a prestigious private school instead, learning the importance of treating staff with respect to foster loyalty and retention.

Got a call scheduling an interview, but they were running an hour behind. Waited in a room with other candidates (maybe for the same job?). Then, I interviewed with three people from the department. They took turns asking me questions from a set list and were so focused on writing my answers that they didn't make much eye contact. They were professional and polite, but not exactly warm. After the interview, there was a writing exercise.

The interview process felt really welcoming and like a team effort. They really wanted to know why I picked this school district and what my teaching philosophy was. They were upfront about what they were looking for in a candidate and their expectations. They also made a quick decision on whether I was a good fit for the job.