Everett Public Schools officials on Feb. 20 presented a multi-pronged initiative to improve recruitment, retention and career pathways for employees, including a reworked hiring process, affinity/retention events, a teacher residency with Western Washington University and participation in a regional LEADER grant.

The presentation said the district redesigned screening and interview procedures, created new interview rubrics and began uploading forms into Frontline Professional Growth. Staff described a timeline: an October evaluation of current hiring practices, piloting revised interview questions in December, further revisions in January and a goal to introduce and train hiring managers before staffing begins in March 2025.

District staff also described the LEADER grant (Leaders in Education Advancing Diversity, Equity and Racial Justice), administered by the nonprofit College Spark. The presentation stated Everett Public Schools joined a regional coalition that was awarded $1,050,000 over six years to recruit and advance educators of color across participating districts and partners.

Separately, staff highlighted a teacher residency program with Western Washington University intended to expand preparation and retention for shortage areas such as special education and bilingual/ELL instruction. Video excerpts and summaries described residency features: extended clinical placement time (longer than traditional student teaching), paid/residency support, mentor stipends and coursework co‑developed with the district. District staff reported 17 residents in the current cohort with an age range of 19–56; the cohort includes eight nontraditionally aged residents, six first‑generation students, four Everett Public Schools paraprofessionals, four district graduates and two residents whose home language is not English.

Director Durag Atkins, speaking from Zoom, praised the residency program’s paid clinical component: “What really stands out to me about the residency program is just the opportunity it gives young people that are interested in doing teaching to get some experience with our district … especially getting paid for it,” Atkins said.

The hiring reforms described include new screening tied to job descriptions, revised interview scoring rubrics, panel guidelines and a toolkit for hiring managers. Staff said they will track hiring data, provide hiring-team training and monitor demographic representation as part of ongoing equity work. The district said it consulted neighboring districts (Auburn School District) while revising its hiring process and plans to post mentor applications for the residency program soon.

Staff also described affinity/retention events the district held in 2024 (two events with 134 participants) aimed at community, belonging and retention, and said the work includes partnerships with human resources, the Everett Education Association and the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion team.

No board votes were taken on the initiatives during the workshop. Staff listed next steps: finalize Frontline forms and toolkits, train hiring managers, implement hiring changes in the March staffing cycle, continue LEADER grant coalition work and expand residency mentor recruitment and supports.