Survey gauges teacher opinions on working conditions

Nearly all Warren County public school teachers participated in the 2012 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey. Their responses were among those received by more than 100,000 educators statewide included in initial results recently presented to the state board of education.

Dr. Frank Polakiewicz, Warren County Schools’ assistant superintendent of administration, said that the surveys allow teachers to share their perceptions on working conditions related to the following topics: how time is used within the school, facilities and resources, community support and involvement, student conduct, teacher leadership, school leadership, professional development and instructional practices and support.

“The information is meant to ensure teachers work in conditions that will help them maximize student performance,” he said.

Polakiewicz said that the results are beneficial at the local and state levels, as well as in the development of school improvement plans, and can be compared to past results in order to identify areas of concern and trends.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction/state board of education explained that teachers complete the anonymous survey online. Educators at both the traditional public schools and charter schools may participate.

This year, 99.53 percent of teachers in the Warren County school system and 87.5 percent of teachers at Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School, a charter school here, completed the survey. 

The 2012 report also includes results from 2010, the last year the survey was given, in order to identify changes over the past two years. 

The department of public instruction/state board of education stated that availability of resources, including time and professional development, had a significant impact on the areas in which perceptions of positive conditions have decreased. Local results reflect this trend in several cases.

Warren County results are as follows:

Mariam Boyd Elementary School

At Mariam Boyd, all teachers participated in the survey in both 2010 and 2012.

While more teachers said they believe they have adequate time to collaborate with colleagues now than in 2010, the educators want smaller class sizes in order to have more time to meet the needs of all students, more instructional time and less routine paperwork.

Teacher responses about questions related to facilities and resources remained about the same as in 2012, with a higher percentage stating that the school is clean and well maintained, yet fewer teachers feel they have sufficient access to support personnel. 

As in 2010, all teachers continue to believe that the community is supportive of the school, and most think that community members contribute to student success more than parents and guardians. 

All Mariam Boyd teachers who responded think that teachers are effective school leaders there, but fewer educators than in 2010 think that teachers have an appropriate level of influence on decision-making.

Mariam Boyd teachers called for more professional development opportunities.

Overall, 89.3 percent agreed that the school is a good place to work and learn, compared to 94.3 percent in 2010.

Northside Elementary School

At Northside, 96.67 percent of teachers completed the survey this year, compared to 100 percent in 2010.

This year, only half of the educators responding indicated that class sizes allow enough time to meet the needs of all students, and only 26.9 percent believe that their non-instructional time is sufficient.

More teachers this year believe that their school is clean and well maintained than in 2010, but they want better access to instructional materials, technology, office equipment and supplies, and support personnel.

This year, 57.1 percent of teachers believe that the community supports the school, compared with 89.7 percent in 2010.

Just 27.6 percent of educators think that students follow rules of conduct, and only 26.1 percent indicated that they feel comfortable raising issues and concerns that are important to them. Only 38.5 percent of teachers feel that parents and guardians are influential decision makers at the school, and 63 percent, down from 93.1 percent two years ago, say that parents and guardians know what is going on in the school. Teachers rated community support much lower than in 2010.

On questions related to student conduct, only 27.6 percent of respondents feel the students follow rules of conduct, 75 percent feel that faculty understands policies and procedures, and only 46.2 percent feel that school administrators consistently enforce rules of student conduct, compared to 100 percent in 2012. Also, only 50 percent of teachers said that school administrators support teachers’ efforts to maintain classroom discipline compared to 100 percent two years ago.

Responses regarding the school’s teacher leadership showed significant drops from 2010 as well. Only 40.7 percent of teachers feel they are trusted to make decisions about instruction compared to 100 percent in 2010, 48.1 percent say they are relied upon to make decisions about educational issues compared to 92.9 percent in 2010, and just over half of respondents feel the school takes steps to solve problems compared to more than 96 percent in the previous survey.

Overall, 66.7 percent of Northside educators called the school a good place to work and learn, compared with 83.3 percent in 2010.

South Warren Elementary School

All South Warren teachers participated in the survey in both 2010 and 2012.

The percentage of educators who indicated that class sizes are sufficient to meet the needs of all students was down 5 percent from 2010, but the percentage who think that non-instructional time is sufficient went up 5 percent.

All teachers indicated that the school is clean and well-maintained, but indicated the need for better access to instructional technology and materials.

The percentage of teachers who believe that the community supports the school was unchanged, at 78.9 percent, and 83.3 percent of educators indicated that students follow rules of conduct.

While South Warren teachers believe that professional development is effective, they would like additional opportunities to improve their skills.

All statements about managing student conduct, teacher leadership and school leadership’s effort to address teacher concerns were improved from 2010, and most statements about school leadership also improved, some as much as 20 percent or more.

Overall, 95 percent of teachers think that the school is a good place to work and learn, compared with 55 percent in 2010.

Vaughan Elementary School

All Vaughan teachers participated in the survey in both 2010 and 2012.

This year, 16 percent more educators think that class sizes allow time to work with all students, but they would like more time to collaborate with colleagues and have more instructional time. Only 38.1 percent indicated that efforts are made to minimize routine paperwork.

As in 2010, all teachers believe that the school is clean and well maintained, and they indicated that Internet speed, and access to technology and supplies is good.

All teachers believe that the community, parents and guardians support the school, that students understand and follow rules of conduct and that sufficient resources are available for professional development. As in 2010, all teachers feel that school administrators support their efforts to maintain discipline.

In statements about teacher leadership, more than 95 percent of respondents think that teachers are encouraged to participate in school leadership roles, and more than 91 percent believe that teachers are effective school leaders. However, the percentage of respondents who agreed that teachers have an appropriate level of influence on decision-making was unchanged from 2010, at 68.2 percent.

Overall, 91.3 percent of educators believe that the school is a good place to work and learn, compared with 86.4 percent in 2010.

Warren County Middle School

All middle school teachers responded to the survey in 2012, as they did in 2010.

While more teachers in 2012 think that class sizes are adequate, the percentage remains under 70.

Nearly all teachers believe that the school is clean and well maintained. More believe that Internet reliability and speed is sufficient this year, and that teachers have adequate access to the equipment and supplies they need.

The percentage of educators who believe that the community supports the school dropped from 73.1 percent in 2010 to 64.3 percent this year.

This year, 43.2 percent of educators believe that students follow rules of conduct, compared with 28.8 percent in 2010, and 63.6 percent feel that school administrators support their efforts to maintain classroom discipline, compared to 31.4 percent two years ago..

Fewer teachers believe that professional development resources are sufficient.

Overall, 60 percent of educators believe that the school is a good place to work and learn, compared with 58.5 percent in 2010, and 63.6 percent feel that school administrators support their efforts to maintain classroom discipline, compared to 31.4 percent two years ago.

Statements about teacher leadership showed more agreement, some up more than 20 percent, but only 40.9 percent of teachers feel they have an appropriate level of influence on decision-making at the school. Still, that is up from 32.1 percent in 2010. 

Survey highlights for the county’s high schools and Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School will be in next week’s edition.

To view the initial results, go to www.ncteachingconditions.org and click on “view 2012 survey results.”