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ACS Exceeds state rankings on Teacher Working Conditions Survey

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Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis
By: Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis

May 1st, 2024

The North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey shows ACS teachers report positive feelings about the district when it comes to school leadership, student conduct, community support, and more. The results are part of the anonymous survey administered every other year to all NC public school educators. All teachers and certified staff members are asked to complete the rankings. Alexander County Schools had a 99.16% response rate.

Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Hefner said she was happy with the strong showing from ACS but not surprised.

"I am so pleased to report Alexander County's school system continues to rank higher than the state with our Teacher Working Conditions Survey results.  This is a direct reflection of strong leadership in our schools, within the district and throughout our communities. I would challenge future leaders to continue to focus on uninterrupted time for teachers to teach and students to learn. Everyone must remain laser focused on the purpose of public schools, and providing the instructional practices and supports needed to ensure student success," said Hefner.

The biggest difference between state and district rankings came concerning student conduct. Eighty-one percent of Alexander County teachers said students know the rules of conduct compared to 68% statewide. Alexander County teachers also felt more positive about how school leadership handles conduct problems. Eighty-six percent answered positively that school leadership supports teachers’ efforts to maintain discipline in the classroom. Those surveyed also said school leadership and teachers routinely enforce the rules for student conduct.  Jessica Anderson, director of student services, and her team have worked to help teachers create a positive classroom environment. 

Anderson says of the high marks, “I think it's reflective of the deep level of involvement of all staff and the positive impacts these efforts are producing.”

For school leadership, nearly 90% of ACS teachers agreed that leaders ensure teachers receive coaching and support to try new things. This bolsters a report heard at the State Board of Education meeting a couple weeks ago that said Alexander County Schools had one of the highest retention rates in the state. Bailey Cody, a beginning teacher in Alexander County Schools, told The Daily Tar Heel that monthly professional development for beginning teachers has been helpful for her.  Eight-one percent of teachers statewide said they were supported to try new practices.

Another set of questions asked teachers about community support. Nearly 90% of ACS teachers said that community members support teachers. In turn, that support helps students. More than 79% of teachers responded positively statewide, nearly an 11 percent difference. The district has made a concerted effort this year to reach parents by incorporating their input in decision-making and by creating a Family Academy for resources on things parents want to know more about. ACS principals also make a point of commending business and civic groups for partnerships during monthly school board meetings.

The state-wide and local results are encouraging after reports by the RAND corporation. Just last year, the group found “teacher well-being declined over the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, highlighting the importance of the quality of the workplace conditions that teachers experience.”

The results of the survey, administered in March and presented Tuesday to the State Board of Education, showed that 92% of educators agreed with the statement: "Overall, my school is a good place to work and learn," the highest percentage on record for this question. For ACS, more than 95% said they agreed. 

This year the number of survey items decreased from 199 to 99. All classroom teachers, counselors, psychologists, social workers, media coordinators, instructional coaches, and other certified positions in the state participated in the survey. School Principals and Assistant Principals do not take the survey. The Teacher Working Conditions provides data for school and district improvements to be used along with other data points such as student achievement and growth, percent poverty level, teacher turnover rate, etc. Results also help inform state-level education policy. The Teacher Working Conditions Survey began in NC in 2002. 

 

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