Uncommon Schools is a Campus Forward Award Winner

Uncommon Schools is a network of high-performing, public schools providing an outstanding K-12 education in historically under-resourced communities. We have proudly built schools that reflect our student population, with more than 61% of our teachers and staff identifying as a person of color. Uncommon manages 57 schools serving more than 21,000 students in Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark, Rochester, and Troy. Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at five times the rate of their peers nationally. They achieve this by offering strong academic, co-curricular, and social-emotional learning that prepares students for success in college and beyond.

Visit Uncommon Schools' Career page here.

Building an Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruiting

Uncommon Schools seeks to democratize and demystify the hiring process in a densely populated and competitive virtual recruitment world. They've updated their website and social media content to share intimate details about their core values, the interview process, and video content that allows candidates to hear from teachers directly. They've implemented deadline campaigns to increase the urgency of students applying for internship opportunities—leaning into social media and targeted advertisement. Uncommon Schools has also hired more recruiters and alumni interns to serve as Campus Ambassadors—sharing their experience and encouraging their fellow students and affiliations to learn more about the industry and organization. Additionally, they've partnered with local and national universities to discuss the needs of students—hosting resume workshops and office hours, facilitating cultivation calls and group video conferences— to support student development.

Crafting a Standout Candidate Experience

Uncommon Schools is committed to ensuring the hiring process is equitable and informative. Each region has a recruiter who personalizes the candidate experience to ensure candidates have access to tools and resources that prepare them throughout the interview process. They schedule cultivation calls, facilitate career panels, and host professional developments and weekly office hours to share interview tips and answer questions. Before attending an initial interview, candidates are provided with videos of teachers modeling best practices and instructional strategies that can be replicated during their interviews. The interview is structured to give candidates a glimpse into the life of a teacher or staff, so they can experience the joy and the rigor that is unique to each role. Candidates receive feedback in real-time from a mentor teacher and leader to ensure they are getting better faster. Additionally, each candidate receives a post-interview survey to offer feedback to improve the process.

Moving the Needle on Diversity & Inclusion

At Uncommon, diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to achieving the mission. They believe that all students deserve to see themselves in the adults who shape their lives, and that diverse teams are strong teams. Partnerships with HBCUs, HSIs, and institutions with diverse populations help staff the Summer Teaching Fellowship program, a cohort of mission-driven college juniors interested in a career in teaching. Being a Fellow is one of the best pathways to becoming a certified, full-time teacher at the entry-level. Fellows develop the skills to lead high-achieving classrooms, including one-on-one support and coaching from experienced Uncommon mentor teachers. After successfully completing the program, Fellows receive a job offer to begin working full-time upon college graduation.

Investing in Impactful Internship Programs

For over a decade, the Uncommon Schools Summer Teaching Fellowship has offered an immersive internship that develops the skills necessary to become an effective classroom teacher. Fellows choose the region, grade, and content they support throughout the summer experience. Each week, fellows receive coaching and feedback from a mentor teacher to develop their craft. Fellows lead hand-on instruction with students: individual instruction, small group tutoring, and exam prep sessions. Uncommon also offers workshops on culturally responsive teaching, social and emotional learning, and student engagement—with 130 aspiring educators from colleges and universities across the country. To date, over 160 Fellows have felt empowered to continue the work to close the achievement gap by joining the Uncommon team, and over 32 Fellows hold a leadership position.

Supporting the Growth and Development of Entry-Level Talent

Uncommon Schools is a national leader in educator training and development for one reason: they believe that their students deserve nothing less than a full commitment to continuous improvement. Teachers, leaders, and staff members at Uncommon receive high-quality one-on-one coaching, support, and professional development from a team that believes in their success. There are many opportunities to grow in a role and take on more responsibilities as individuals develop into the educators of their dreams. To achieve this, Uncommon Schools takes a collaborative approach by providing staff with the necessary support to grow and develop a meaningful career as teachers, leaders, or operations staff members. They invest deeply in every professional, supporting the growth to achieve exceptional results for their students.

Congratulations to the team at Uncommon Schools for being selected as one of the winners of RippleMatch's 2022 Campus Forward Awards!

RippleMatch's Campus Forward Awards recognizes the top early career teams and programs in the nation. Through a detailed application process, early career teams shared their approach to recruitment, candidate experience, D&I, and internship & entry-level programming. The programs picked for this award represent the best of the best, selected from applications submitted by campus recruiting teams across industries.

See all Award Winners for the category of Large Early Career Programs, Large Team below