Effective hiring practices are critical to ensuring the academic success of at-promise students attending alternative schools. In California, hiring practices for educators often result in school cultures that are not conducive to the growth and improvement of at-promise students due to poorly matched educators and high turnover. This study aimed to understand how site administrators at alternative schools described current hiring processes, how these processes affected the success of at-promise students, and how they imagined hiring processes that might create more equitable learning environments for alternative students. Simon's decision-making theory guided this qualitative interview study examining alternative school hiring practices in California. The study focused on three research questions: What are the teacher hiring practices administrators use to serve their student populations at alternative schools in California? What characteristics and/or training do administrators seek when hiring teachers to serve their alternative school students? How do administrators retain effective teachers at their schools? The participants in this qualitative interview study were 24 administrators who work or worked in alternative schools in California as principals, vice principals, directors, and coordinators. The study found that administrators viewed providing quality teachers for alternative schools specializing in at-promise students as key to providing quality education. They felt that hiring practices should prioritize teacher candidates with a passion for alternative education, a spirit of flexibility, and compatibility with the school culture to cultivate environments that empower at-promise students. Building a supportive, safe, and inclusive environment requires hiring teachers who are the right fit and understand and connect with at-promise students' needs. However, current hiring practices typically do not allow either the school doing the hiring or the candidate for the teaching position a real opportunity to assess experience, fit, school culture, and professional dispositions. Moreover, the hiring processes are typically too rigid and top-down to give hiring schools the autonomy they need to require the best teachers for their at-promise students. The study concludes that changing the way alternative schools hire high-quality teachers is imperative to creating a sustainable, productive environment for at-promise students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]