ITP - 88: TIE, Recruiting, and Evidence-Based Hiring

Greg: Welcome everybody to this episode of the International Teacher Podcast. My name is Greg, the single guy, and I do have a full roster here. JP Mint and Kent are both joining me today. How you guys doing?

Jacqueline: We’re doing great, Greg.

Kent: Doing great, Greg. Together again.

Greg: And we have a very special guest right now. We have Stacey Stevens coming to us from the USA. She is the director of The International Educator, which is TIE, and she’s also a consultant for international teachers and educators around the world. So I want to welcome Stacey. Thank you very much for joining us, Stacey.

Stacey: Thank you for having me and for putting this on my radar and making me think about doing it.

Greg: Yeah, we did have to talk you into it, didn’t we? Stacey and I know each other, but full disclosure—we’re not former colleagues or anything like that. Stacey and I met at the American Embassy School in Delhi way back, I want to say around 2013 or 2014.

Stacey: Yeah, 2013–2014. That was the first iPad Summit, and we gathered like-minded teachers who wanted to learn how to use iPads in classrooms because schools were just starting one-to-one programs.

Greg: Yeah, I remember thinking, how do I actually use this as a teaching tool? I met you there—were you the tech director at the time?

Stacey: No, I was the Director of Learning. Dana Watts and I were leading that work. We were one of the first schools to implement iPads in middle school, which was pretty unique at the time.

Greg: That conference was incredible. Everything was so well organized—transportation, food, safety. It made a huge difference.

Greg: I’d love to get an elevator version of your background. How did you get to where you are today?

Stacey: I started teaching in San Francisco public schools and was there for seven years. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to teach internationally. During my master’s through Michigan State University, I had the chance to study in England with other international educators, which reinforced that goal. The moment that really stuck with me was when I was 16. My high school theater teacher announced he was moving to Berlin to work at JFK School. That was the first time I realized there were schools like ours all over the world.

Stacey: So I taught in San Francisco, then went to the American School of Kuwait for two years. After that, I spent five years at Lincoln School in Buenos Aires. It’s funny—I was just at AAIE, and so many people there had worked in Buenos Aires at the same time. The international world is small. Then I moved to the American Embassy School in New Delhi, where I transitioned into leadership. I had always been a secondary teacher, but I moved into middle school to broaden my experience. From there, I became Director of Learning.

Stacey: After Delhi, I went to IS Beijing for seven years. That was probably the biggest professional growth opportunity of my career. It’s a large, well-resourced school, and you can do so much in that environment. Then COVID happened. I helped move the school online but needed to return to the US to be closer to my parents. I went to ISKL in Kuala Lumpur for a year, but COVID disruptions continued. That period really shaped where I am now.

Greg: So how many years overseas total?

Stacey: About 20 to 21 years.

Greg: And now you’re based in the US?

Stacey: Yes, I chose to be closer to family. Parents don’t get younger—they only get older.

Jacqueline: That’s very true.

Greg: So now you’re working remotely with TIE?

Stacey: Yes. When I repatriated, I initially planned to take a year off, but consulting opportunities came up. I started working with people I had previously worked with, and that gradually grew. I was considering returning to a school when TIE approached me about the director role. What appealed to me was the chance to do something different. I’ve always enjoyed change and trying new things, and this felt like a new way to apply what I’ve learned. It was also a bit of an identity shift—not being in a school anymore. That was something I had to process because schools have always been central to my career.

Greg: But you’re still deeply connected to schools through TIE.

Stacey: Absolutely. TIE has always been part of the international education ecosystem. It’s evolved a lot, especially during COVID when we shifted fully online.

Greg: Can you explain what TIE is for listeners who might not know?

Stacey: TIE, The International Educator, started as a print publication where schools posted job ads. That’s how many of us first learned about international jobs. During COVID, we stopped printing and moved fully online. Now, the newsletter is free, and we’ve expanded into areas like evidence-based recruiting.

Stacey: One of the big developments is the recruiting portal, which allows educators to build a portfolio aligned to international standards of practice. Instead of just a two-page resume, you can show actual evidence of your work. That’s powerful because resumes don’t fully represent what educators do. This system allows candidates to curate their career and provide real examples of their impact.

Greg: That’s a big shift from traditional recruiting.

Stacey: It is. And from a hiring perspective, it allows schools to ask better questions and make more informed decisions.

Greg: So one of the things I’ve always thought about TIE is that it’s kind of like the glue that holds international education together. You’ve got the schools, the recruiting agencies, the teachers—it all kind of meets there.

Stacey: That’s a great way to put it. We’re not a recruiting agency in the traditional sense. We don’t host fairs or place candidates directly. What we do is create the structures and systems that allow schools and candidates to find each other. Our focus is really on facilitation rather than placement. We want to provide tools that improve the process, not necessarily control it.

Kent: So TIE isn’t moving into the job fair space at all?

Stacey: No, that’s not really our mission. There are other organizations that do that very well. We’re more about creating access and improving how people connect and evaluate each other.

Greg: I think that’s important because more and more people are moving away from fairs anyway.

Stacey: Exactly. And that’s where having better digital tools becomes critical. If people are going to be hired online, then we need better ways to represent who they are as educators.

Greg: So what does TIE actually look like behind the scenes? Is it a big organization?

Stacey: Not at all. We’re a very small, boutique organization. We’re fully remote, with people spread all over the world—Tanzania, Thailand, the US. It’s a distributed team. There are really two sides to TIE. One is the editorial side—the newsletter, articles, and content. The other is the recruiting and technology side, which includes the portal and tools for schools and candidates. Altogether, we’re probably around six people, many of us part-time. So it’s small, but we’re trying to do meaningful work.

Greg: That’s fascinating because from the outside it feels like a massive organization.

Stacey: I know—it has that perception, but we’re definitely small. Mighty, but tiny.

Greg: I love that.

Greg: So in addition to TIE, you mentioned consulting. What does that look like for you?

Stacey: A lot of my consulting work is focused on social-emotional learning. I’ve developed an SEL framework that’s been implemented across multiple schools, from early years through grade 12. One of the gaps I noticed is that while we have clear standards for academic subjects, we don’t always have the same clarity for SEL. So I’ve worked on building outcomes-based frameworks that schools can actually use. I’ve made that work available as a Creative Commons resource, so schools can adapt it to their context.

Stacey: I’ve also done work around growth and appraisal systems, which ties directly into what we’re doing at TIE. Once you hire great teachers, how do you support and develop them?

Greg: That’s a huge question for schools.

Stacey: It is. And I think there’s an opportunity to move toward more teacher-driven growth models rather than top-down evaluation systems.

Greg: So let’s talk about hiring for a second. Is hiring teachers really that different from hiring in other professions?

Stacey: In some ways, yes, but in other ways, we’ve made it more different than it needs to be. Teaching is a profession, and professions have standards. One of the challenges in education is that without clear, shared standards, hiring decisions can become very subjective. Different people may be looking for completely different things. Standards help create alignment. They give us a shared understanding of what good teaching looks like.

Jacqueline: And then the evidence becomes the key piece, right?

Stacey: Exactly. Standards are important, but evidence is what brings them to life. What does it actually look like in practice? For example, if we talk about cultural competence, what does that mean in a classroom? What evidence would show that a teacher is doing that well?

Greg: That’s where it gets interesting.

Stacey: It does. You might look for things like student choice, inclusion of different cultural perspectives, or allowing students to bring their own identities into their learning. Those are the kinds of things that go beyond a resume. They show how a teacher actually operates in a classroom.

Greg: And that’s exactly what the portfolio is trying to capture.

Stacey: Yes, it’s about making that visible.

Greg: So if we move from hiring into retention, what are schools getting wrong right now when it comes to keeping good teachers?

Stacey: I think one of the biggest issues is that schools invest a lot in hiring, but not nearly as much in developing and retaining people once they’re there. There’s often an assumption that once someone is hired, the work is done. In reality, that’s when the work should really begin. Teachers need ongoing feedback, opportunities for growth, and systems that support reflection. If you don’t have that, you end up losing good people—not because they aren’t capable, but because they don’t feel supported or challenged.

Jacqueline: That’s something we see a lot—teachers leaving not because of the job itself, but because of the environment around them.

Stacey: Exactly. And I think schools sometimes underestimate how important that environment is. Culture, leadership, and professional learning all play a role.

Greg: So what does a good system actually look like?

Stacey: It’s one where teachers have agency. They’re involved in their own growth, setting goals, and reflecting on their practice. It’s not just something that’s done to them once or twice a year. It’s also about alignment. If your hiring is based on certain standards, your evaluation and development systems should reflect those same standards. Otherwise, you’re sending mixed messages about what actually matters.

Greg: That makes a lot of sense.

Stacey: And then there’s leadership. Leaders need to be instructional leaders, not just managers. They need to understand teaching and learning deeply if they’re going to support teachers effectively.

Kent: That’s a big ask, especially in smaller schools where leaders are wearing a lot of hats.

Stacey: It is, but it’s also essential. If leaders don’t prioritize that, it trickles down into everything else.

Greg: So if you had to give one piece of advice to school leaders listening right now, what would it be?

Stacey: Invest in your people. Not just in hiring them, but in developing them. Create systems that support growth, and make sure those systems are aligned with your values and standards. And listen. Teachers often know what they need, but they don’t always feel heard.

Jacqueline: That’s a powerful point.

Greg: And for teachers listening, especially those going through the recruiting process right now, what would you say to them?

Stacey: I would say be intentional about how you present yourself. Think about your story—not just where you’ve worked, but what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown. And if you have the opportunity to show evidence of your work, take it. That’s what will set you apart. Also, be reflective. The best educators are constantly thinking about their practice and looking for ways to improve.

Greg: That reflection piece keeps coming up.

Stacey: It does, because it’s central to growth. Without reflection, it’s hard to improve in meaningful ways.

Greg: All right, Stacey, as we start to wrap this up, I want to thank you for coming on. This has been a really insightful conversation.

Stacey: Thank you. I really enjoyed it.

Jacqueline: Thanks, Stacey. This was great.

Kent: Yeah, really appreciate your time.

Greg: And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in. We’ll see you next episode.

All: Thank you.