NEW HANOVER COUNTY — In the spring the county school board approved a survey to be put forth to district staff and teachers, in order to gauge the climate of the New Hanover County Schools district. More people do not think the district is a good place to work compared the last survey conducted.
READ MORE: NHCS decides on budget, commissioner rebukes claim county refused to meet
Almost half of the survey respondents — 44% — disagreed the district was a “good place to work and learn,” nor are they satisfied or feel supported by its leadership. More than half don’t feel valued for their contributions to the district’s success.
Almost 2,000 people participated the survey, including 1,504 teachers — which is 87.54% of the 2023 teacher total, 1,718.
More than half also answered they do not consider the school board of education values their expertise, nor considers its decisions positively affecting educator’s work and improving public schools. In fact, the survey revealed 80% find the board “out of touch” with the realities of teaching and the challenges faced in the public school system (it notes 78% disagree the district knows what goes on in classrooms).
Raising important issues of concern to leadership also didn’t track high, with 65% fearing retaliation regarding district policies, procedures and curricula.
It’s not the first time the staff’s temperature has been taken on the district’s climate; it was last surveyed in 2022. On the same question asking if the district was a “good place to work and learn,” 31% of the 1,003 survey respondents then didn’t consider it true.
The amount of people who felt valued has decreased by 18%, not accounting for the 900-person difference in who was surveyed between 2022 and 2024.
The last survey did not put forth questions specifically about the school board. To include it this go round was praised by at least one commenter — the survey included anonymous insights by participants.
The person asked for a more “functional” board that listened to the teachers: “This survey is very much appreciated because it is the first time in almost 2 decades that I have been asked my opinion by the BOE.”
Only 14% — or 290 people — who answered have been with the district for more than 20 years. The survey shows the majority of respondents, 718, have worked in the school system for only up to five years.
The board helped devise the questions in April and May, after voting unanimously to conduct the survey.
“I’d like to get a pulse on our staff regarding discipline, safety, what’s going on in their own schools, and collectively as a school system,” Hugh McManus said at the April 10 board meeting.
School board members sent in questions based on morale, discipline, curricula and safety, which the district’s communications and human resources office composed into a draft. It was approved and disseminated to 46 schools on May 14, with reminders sent to all employees four times weekly, before closing May 31.
The survey was coordinated with the UNCW Watson School of Education and utilized Bolman and Deal’s four-frame model — focused on structure, human resource, political and symbolic — to help find areas of improvement within the district.
“The survey provided a comprehensive understanding of the district’s strengths and weaknesses, enabling targeted actions to enhance the educational environment for both staff and students,” it states.
Port City Daily reached out to the school board Tuesday to ask questions about the 2024 results. By press, only member Pat Bradford responded and said she would discuss it after Tuesday’s meeting.
“No time, too busy — getting ready for tonight,” she wrote in an email.
The results are slated to be discussed Tuesday night at the school board meeting.
In other anonymous comments written by survey respondents, one calls for the board to leave politics out of its duties. The seven-person school board has a GOP-leaning majority, with some of its members bringing issues to the forefront that are prominent among Republicans nationwide — particularly some involving culture wars.
“They don’t know anything about the students or a classroom in 2024,” one commenter wrote. “They are focusing on banning books in our classrooms and limiting what we put up on the wall, while our main issues are phone use, tardiness, skipping, behavior referrals, student apathy, etc. These topics are not being addressed and so students are continuing to slip through the cracks with no repercussions or support.”
Recently, the board received flack for amendments to policies 3200 and 7300 that limit what teachers can display in classrooms, school buildings, school grounds, and buses (it’s scheduled to be discussed Tuesday night as well).
The board also held a hearing last year to temporarily remove the book “Stamped” from an AP English classroom. Two board members recently brought up issues with other title selections for the reading competition Battle of the Books, though haven’t attempted to take measures against it.
Another comment indicated students were being graduated at an elementary-school level, many of whom don’t attend school regularly. It was suggested a stronger attendance policy be executed, noting students have been allowed up to 50 absences, “excused for no good reason,” with a parent note.
“That is ridiculous,” the surveyor wrote.
One person suggested the NHCS board of education visit the schools more often to learn about changes that need to be made and to find out how it can best support teachers. A ban on cellphones was also suggested.
Both issues have been taken up in Brunswick County recently. Its school board strengthened the attendance policy in May, after conducting a staff survey, and recently instituted a pilot program banning the use of cellphones during classrooms in two schools. Starting next school year, students at Cedar Grove Middle School and Town Creek Middle School will lock away phones in Yondr pouches during the day, preventing access and distractions; if successful, more schools could follow suit the next semester.
Questions on the NHCS survey also regarded student discipline and whether staff feels supported; around 62% disagreed, with roughly the same percentage noting they’re not consulted on opinions of measures that should be taken. One person indicated the district is tying the hands of teachers — “felt at almost every school level” — due to a lack of consequences regarding toxic student behaviors.
“It takes a mountain of time and documentation to have a student temporarily moved to an alternative setting,” the person wrote. “There is a huge lack of accountability when it comes to student behavior and this is having a severely negative impact on the culture of our schools and the majority of our students.”
Curricula was also addressed, with 64% disagreeing on its flexibility to meet diverse student needs. Most teachers indicated they also don’t consider their views on curricula utilized as part of the selection process.
Someone asked to bring back vocational courses to help prevent disruptions from students not inclined to learn well in a traditional classroom setting. Another suggested more resources to underfunded communities to improve focus in school settings and provide more help in classrooms.
A solution was suggested to give more opportunities for teacher feedback to help improve curricula.
Full survey results can be read here.
Tips or comments? Email jalyn@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Port City Daily is your online newspaper dedicated to the Cape Fear region.
Contact Us: We want to hear from you! Please send us an email at: info@portcitydaily.com
© 2024 PortCity Daily | Website by Web Publisher PRO