At DataDrive2030, we’ve always known the practitioner matters. Our Positive Deviance Initiative shows that it’s not just what children are taught, but how (and by whom) that shapes their learning. Responsive, intentional, engaged practitioners can make all the difference.

But lately, we’ve been asking a new question: What if we could support principals not just in growing great practitioners, but in finding them in the first place?

We’re working in the background designing a recruitment tool that ECD principals can use to select better-suited practitioners; quickly, confidently, and contextually. The tool itself has two components: a conversation and an observation (monitored teaching activity). We also hope the tool can double as a development resource to help practitioners grow.

Although we are still in the early phases of designing these tools, we’ve put together a document with four lessons we would love to share in the spirit of open learning.

View the document here.