Teachers Weigh in on District's Climate and Culture, part 3 of 3: Solutions?

[XLFD]

In part 1 and part 2 of this trilogy, we looked at the first 14 questions of a recent teacher survey on satisfaction with the current culture and climate in the Ludington Area School District (LASD).  Tomorrow, October 17th, there will be a candidate forum at WSCC that will feature the five candidates for the two spots on the LASD Board, we hope that each of those candidates have heeded the survey results and incorporate this knowledge into their answers, likewise we hope that those who ask questions to these candidates consider the state of the current climate and culture.

As an overview, the school board did not fare all that well in the assessments, and usually it was in regard to how they handled administrative staff.  The 'heavies' in the survey were to a small extent the principals of the schools, assistant principals actually were rated much higher.  But many teachers indicated that the big problems were perceptions they had with Superintendent Kyle Corlett's empathy and communication skills.  

The first three questions measured satisfaction like the earlier ones, we will briefly summarize the results and three answers reflecting the consensus will be shared.  The latter three were more open-ended, the last offered a chance of an essay.

Question 15:  Are you satisfied that your workplace is safe?

About 1 in 3 teachers were satisfied that their school was safe, over half felt unsafe.  The reasons varied for the most part, some were centered on deficiencies in the new elementary or ones due to construction issues in the upper levels, some were unspecific, but felt overall there were issues:  "Our school is still vulnerable to outside threats." (# 11), "We had a high school shooting and safety threat this year and the admin swept it under the rug.  When a student threatens another student with bullet shell casings and only gets a slap on the wrist, that's wrong." (#47).  "If the public knew about the lack of preparedness and liability concerns, we would be shut down."  (#6)

Question 16:  Are you satisfied with the district's student discipline policy?

Four in seven were dissatisfied, with only two in nine satisfied with the policy.  Many respondents were not aware of a policy or just didn't see a policy that was standard or fair.  "We need a complete overhaul." (#30), "What is the policy?  There doesn't seem to be any consistency."  (#37), "I handle most things in class and the few times I sought outside help, I was told there was nothing to be done.  There's no place to put a student and no one to supervise."  (#25)

Question 17:  Are you satisfied with the vision and direction of the LASD?

Only one in five were satisfied with the vision and direction to some degree, more than two in five were not, with over a third in between.  Those dissatisfied expressed a variety of concerns indicating vague visions and lack of direction in the current district.  "I do not know what our strategic plan is or what our vision is for moving forward.  It is not clearly communicated." (#33), "Do more with less is not a vision I can get behind... employees feel completely defeated." (#29), "Seems like we are losing real good people due to the leadership of our district." (#12).  

Question 18 had teachers rank five factors that have the biggest impact on C&C, the above graph that shows the average ranking, with respect/empathy in front averaging around second place just under scoring four.  That area was actually at the top of more than half of the lists, indicating that the teachers feel a bit of disrespect and their feelings are not being considered.  Communication came in a close second, which also shows the same feelings.  Conversely, while one in ten teachers rated respect lowest on the list, nobody placed communication last.  

Question 19:  Have you ever considered changing jobs or going to work for another district?

This was the survey's only yes/no question, and survey takers were welcomed to elaborate on their binary choice.  Over 70% (66 of 91) voted that they had considered changing jobs, of those who explained their choice:  "Daily, my family has given me permission to walk away.  They are sick of seeing the aftereffects of a teaching day." (#40), "Unfortunately, yes!  And I am in the middle of my career.  I was just looking at job postings the other week." (#67), "Whie losing sleep and developing ulcers since the hiring of the new super the last couple of years I have increasingly thought of leaving this district.  I have watched countless other employees leave and learned of almost instant relief and happiness."

Question 20:  What solutions would you suggest to improve the climate and culture of LASD?

The long answer, open question that 88 of 94 respondents answered, most able to answer in less than a paragraph, #11 was especially in depth with five developed solutions for five problems.  We offer four of the better ones here, but encourage perusal of the other 84 to see potential solutions to all of the problems indicated over the rest of the survey.

In conclusion, it's unfortunate that it takes a survey like this to expose that our school district is not firing on all cylinders.  We can go to school boards and get a tilted view of reality where the district tries its best to choreograph for an hour that everything is running smoothly, proudly showing where the teachers are content, and administrators are loved.   This is not reality, there is dissension in almost every classroom, with the district, administrators, and even the board. 

One wonders whether there can be a great way to find the best board trustees after one or two simplistic questions held at a candidate forum, as the candidate's answers are usually simplistic in themselves, not to mention safe and non-committal.  Gravitate to those candidates who operate out of the safe zone in their answers.  Parents and other interested parties: go to the school board meeting this coming Monday (most candidates should be there) and assert yourself into finding any answers or solutions which fail to be offered at the debate forum at WSCC and which matter to you.