Despite a range of challenges facing educators in 2020, teacher trust in school leadership has risen over the last calendar year in the Jackson-Madison County School System, according to the statewide Fall 2020 teacher survey by the Tennessee Education Research Alliance. The results of the survey were recently reviewed by district leaders. School climate, instructional practice and professional learning were among the topics covered in the online questionnaire.
“While we recognize that all staff did not respond to this survey, there were some valuable insights that we can take into consideration in continuing to plan as a district,” said Catherine Korth, JMCSS leader of Assessment and Accountability.
Teachers in Madison County were asked to respond to questions related to Instructional Challenges. Incorporating students attending virtually into in-person and class activities represented the biggest in-person teaching challenge facing the educators who participated in the survey window from February 25 – April 10, 2020. Teachers’ overall perception of support from school leaders and colleagues remained strong despite these challenges.
Eighty-six (86%) of the respondents agreed an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect is present within their school; an increase of 6% from the Spring 2020 survey. 90% of educators responded as generally satisfied with being a teacher in their school; up 4% from Spring 2020. A decrease in teacher satisfaction was identified in multiple areas – most notably in sufficiency in collaborative planning. Teacher satisfaction fell twenty-two percentage points between Spring and Fall 2020.
“The feedback we receive weekly from principals during Senior Leadership sessions and internal surveys conducted by teacher cabinet representatives have provided us with context for understanding and responding to teacher concerns. The Vanderbilt survey results confirm our need to protect the virtual Friday in our instructional model to support planning time for teachers,” said Superintendent Dr. Marlon King.
The Tennessee Education Research Alliance is a research-practice partnership between Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Department of Education.
