Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 27, 1991 TAG: 9102270462
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS/ NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
But the survey, presented Tuesday night to the School Board, also showed teacher morale at a fairly high level. Those who responded felt good about the:
Commitment of teachers to their students.
Support for the schools by parents and the community.
Dedication of the School Board and school administration to quality education and instruction.
Quality of the services provided by school employees who are not teachers.
Board member Daniel Schneck of Christiansburg said that considering some of the troubling things going on both within and outside the school system at the time of the survey, "It seems like the results were fairly decent."
Of 659 survey forms given to full-time professional school employees, 546 - or 83 percent - were returned by the Nov. 5 deadline. Of those responding, 465 - or 85 percent - identified themselves as teachers, with almost half of those being elementary teachers.
The response rate was very high for the type of self-administered survey used, said Wayne Worner, the Virginia Tech education professor who conducted the survey.
Teachers were consistent in the belief that their opinions don't make much difference, Worner said. But they appeared willing to spend more time planning activities if they believed participation would make a difference, he said.
Worner said the School Board should decide whether its methods provide an adequate and accurate view of teacher opinions. If the board decides the communication system is working, then it might want to make more clear the roles of various employees in the decision-making process, he said.
If the board decides there is a failure to communicate, it should immediately take action to improve the situation, Worner said. He suggested that some school principals might be less effective than others at finding out what teachers think and communicating that up the ladder to the School Board.
Board Chairman Marty Childress said the board is at fault for sometimes sending mixed messages to school employees and needs to take the blame for that.
Concerning the survey in general, Worner said the person's job or type of school made little difference in responses. And respondents rated things about their own schools higher than the same things throughout the school system.
Teachers would like to be listened to as well-informed professionals, said Jennie Reilly, president of the Montgomery County Education Association. "I don't think anybody expects [the board] to always go along with us."
Reilly said she hoped the survey encourages the School Board to favorably consider a communication policy the association suggested last month, and the idea of individual school-based management of the county's schools.
The association was rated high in the survey as a positive force for education.
Board member Don Lacy of Blacksburg said he was not surprised by the results. "I didn't detect any serious morale problem," he said.
The board unofficially went along with Lacy's suggestion that the survey be conducted again next year and perhaps every two years after that. With the first two surveys as a base of information, the board can target areas it needs to work on and then use future surveys to gauge the effectiveness of its efforts, Lacy said.
by CNB