THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508030473
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
A significant number of faculty and parents do not consider themselves full partners in the educational process at Manteo Middle School, according to a report issued this week by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
The 42-page document, compiled by Doug Mabe, a personnel consultant for the department, points to a conflict between Principal Bobby Hudspeth, and the faculty and parents at the school.
In the study, faculty members interviewed used words ranging from ``Dictator,'' ``Authoritarian'', and ``Cold,'' to ``Caring, kind-hearted and assertive.''
Male staff members were twice as likely to use positive words to describe the principal, while female faculty members were more than twice as likely to use negative terms.
Forty-nine percent of faculty members expressed confidence in Hudspeth's ability to lead the school in the future, while 39 percent said they had ``little or no confidence'' in that ability.
But while a majority of staff members expressed confidence in Hudspeth, six of 10 parents surveyed said they had ``little or no confidence'' in his ability to lead. Parents cited communication as the main problem at the school.
For his part, Hudspeth said he had read the study, but would withhold comment until he had an opportunity to discuss it with the entire staff.
``It's pretty straightforward,'' he said. ``The purpose of the study was improvement. We're always looking for ways to make improvement. We're going to use this study and find ways to better educate our students.''
The Dare County Board of Education requested the study in late May, after parents and teachers complained about the atmosphere at the school.
Mabe surveyed faculty and parents over a two-day period in June. His findings indicate an atmosphere of mistrust at the school. That climate, Mabe wrote, is the single greatest obstacle to effective communication at the school.
``Numerous times, respondents commented that during the year, `It seemed the walls had ears,' '' Mabe said.
During the two-day process, one parent interrupted the interview to ask why static was coming from a walkie talkie sitting on the interview table. The location of the interview was changed for fear that comments would be overheard.
``The issues of poor communication and lack of trust seem to be so inextricably linked that an almost unbreakable vicious cycle has developed,'' the report reads. ``Communication has stopped because there is no trust, and trust cannot grow where there is no communication.''
The report also indicated a conflict between the administration and faculty at the school over the school's vision. The administration's goals center on an improvement in standardized test scores, student attendance, decreased discipline problems and individual achievement by students.
The staff, however, while praising increases in test scores and curriculum improvements, seem to be more concerned with students overall social, emotional and academic development, the report said.
``Both visions are worth embracing,'' Mabe wrote. ``What seems to be missing is the common ground of collaboration and agreement regarding the relative importance of these two visions and methods by which they can be achieved.''
Faculty members indicated that the biggest problems at Manteo Middle School included conflict between teachers and the administration; interference from parents; teachers' reluctance to change, and stress.
In other findings:
Nineteen of 32 staff members who responded to Mabe's survey described morale at the school as either low or very low.
Staff members were almost equally divided over the working atmosphere at the school. Nineteen of 39 respondents gave positive comments, but the remainder were either mixed or negative. One staff member said the year was ``Like a roller coaster. When it's good, it's very good, but we're not a team anymore.''
Thirty-four of 39 staffers said that students feel safe at the school. However, five others said the students feel safe on a physical level, but not emotionally. One-third of those teachers said they neither feel secure in their jobs nor emotionally safe.
Despite low staff morale, student morale was given high marks. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed classified morale as good among the student body.
Forty-one percent of faculty members believed that non-parent members of the community see Manteo Middle School in a negative light. Most blamed the media for the negative perception.
Parents also cited communication as the biggest problem at the school. Six of 10 who responded to the survey listed it as their top concern. The remainder criticized the principal's management style, and the administration.
In his summary, Mabe suggested that candid discussion is the key to solving the school's problems.
Mabe wrote: ``If stakeholders at Manteo Middle School would resolve to be as open, honest, candid and sincere with each other as they were with the interviewer, the barriers to communication that currently separate members of a very talented and dedicated staff would begin to disappear.'' by CNB