Today, at the Capitol Rotunda, a Coalition of Partners formally signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) for the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Kentucky survey.Set to launch in March 2011, the TELL Kentucky survey is designed to document and analyze how teachers and other educators view their teaching and learning conditions, so that educators, stakeholders and policy-makers can make evidence-based decisions on policies and practices that will improve student achievement.
The Coalition of Partners has committed to support the TELL Kentucky survey statewide and communicate the importance of hearing from every educator in the state by helping inform teachers and administrators during the coming months.
More details about the survey are available here.
See the survey here.“Our teachers know what is working in the classroom,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “Their firsthand experiences help us differentiate between the theoretical and the practical, and they can tell us whether we are truly headed in the right direction. The TELL Kentucky survey gives our teachers a loud, undeniable voice in that process.”
“This survey is a powerful tool and part of our comprehensive and collaborative plan for improving public education in our state,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “Understanding and improving the working conditions in our schools will help us realize our vision of every child, proficient and prepared for success -- that is, college- and career-ready when they graduate.”
Beshear and Holliday joined others in the Coalition of Partners today as the group’s members signed the MOU. The coalition includes:
Office of the Governor, Kentucky
Kentucky Board of Education
Kentucky Department of Education
Education Professional Standards Board
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Kentucky Education Association
Kentucky Association of School Councils
Kentucky Association of School Administrators
Kentucky PTA
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Kentucky School Boards Association
Kentucky Association of School Superintendents
Jefferson County Teachers Association
Other partners include the Legislative Research Commission, Office of Education Accountability, Partnership for Successful Schools, Spalding University, legislators, teachers, principals and superintendents.
In March 2011, the TELL survey will be administered to all Kentucky certified educators employed in the state’s 174 school districts. There will be questions about facilities and resources; instructional and planning time; decision-making; school leadership; community support; and more.
The survey will be administered by the nonprofit New Teacher Center (NTC), a national organization dedicated to supporting the development of a high-quality teaching force. NTC has conducted similar surveys in other states and provides induction and professional development for teachers and principals across the country.
The TELL Kentucky survey will be administered online, and all responses will remain anonymous. Results from the teacher responses will be aggregated and reported by NTC no later than June 2011. These reports will be a compilation of educator responses to all questions and presented as bar charts for the school (if at least 50 percent of educators respond), district and state.
4 comments:
I worked at Leestown Middle where the principal brought a gun to school and was terminated shortly thereafter. The climate of fear was extremely pervasive. We were given surveys about her performance, and we were told that they would be confidential. People were so afraid to fill the surveys out, so afraid Mrs. Cobb would see them, that some brought them to Dr. Peter Flynn directly.
I have learned, as an educator, that confidentiality does not exist. Most teachers will be afraid to discuss honestly their working conditions. This survey will not be an accuarate window into Kentucky classrooms.
Speaking of an "accurate window into Kentucky classrooms," did you know they are thinking about 360degree cameras in classrooms?
They are being thought of as new, more efficient ways of conducting observations but I think one can see the sweeping implications.
The teacher who gets baited and loses his or her cool, just once....
Doi you think there could be legal ramifications here? What if a student or a teacher did not give consent to being videotaped?
You know the inside scoop: is Stu thinking about putting these in classroom "in the best interests" of kids.
Sure, could be. Security related to who could see such videos would seem to be the central issue. FERPA looms large here.
I don't know how fast this idea might be adopted. And I have no clue if Stu would be arrtacted to the practice.
I'm told it is doable at about $1000 a classroom right now. If American superintendents adopted the innovation that would create a price reduction due to an increased market...
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