Some Fail Principals
Schools Get Mixed Grades From Staff

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

A majority of the 31,000 Teachers who returned Department of Education surveys last week rated their schools favorably, but significant numbers also indicated that communication among school staff was poor, professional development was lacking and their Principals were unhelpful.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG: Good for finding problems.

A total of 216,914 parents, 31,592 educators and 338,201 students filled out the surveys, which sought their opinions on a range of issues, including school curricula, the atmosphere of their schools and the quality of instruction. The findings will be used to evaluate school progress, and the city has posted the results for each school on line. Most parents expressed satisfaction with their children's Teachers and their school overall. About 26 percent of parents, 44 percent of Teachers and 65 percent of students who received the surveys returned them last spring.

Knowledge is Power

"During my career in business and in my time as Mayor," said Mayor Bloomberg at a Sept. 6 press conference announcing the survey results, "I've learned that the more information any enterprise has, the more successful it can be in managing and fixing problems, and serving its customers."

LEONIE HAIMSON: DOE downplayed class size.

While the survey showed many satisfied Teachers, it also identified pockets of frustration. For example, 79 percent of Teachers reported that school leaders let staff know what is expected of them, but 37 percent said those same leaders didn't encourage open and honest communication on important school matters. Similarly, 35 percent said that their Principal did not invite Teachers to play a meaningful role in setting goals and making decisions about the school. The Teachers' and the Principals' unions have both been emphasizing the importance of the School Leadership Teams, which are meant to involve Teachers and parents in the decision-making process.

Some Teachers were clearly substantially alienated from their Principals. One third said that their Principal was not an effective manager, and the same number said that they didn't trust their Principal.

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten praised the Mayor and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein for conducting the survey, which will provide a significant amount of information about how parents, students and Teachers perceive a school. But she noted the number of Teachers who said that communication with the school administration was lacking.

"With Principals being given more authority under this latest reorganization," Ms. Weingarten said, "the Chancellor should make sure they understand and appreciate the need for Teachers and parents, too, to have a greater voice in deciding how schools are run."

The support Teachers felt in their schools seemed to vary greatly. While 40 percent answered that their Principal supported them to a great extent, 30 percent said they felt supported to some extent. About 30 percent reported little or no support.

That collaborative atmosphere also was not consistent among Teachers themselves. About 45 percent said they felt greatly supported by other Teachers, while 41 percent said that was true to some extent. About 72 percent said that Teachers trusted one another in their school.

Other Misgivings

The use of professional development time has been an ongoing source of tension in some schools, and about 37 percent said that their professional development did not help them to teach better.

Many Teachers have also expressed misgivings about what they perceive as an increase in data-driven instruction. The school system now relies more on test scores and standardized achievement assessments than in the past, in keeping with the national trend. About 41 percent of Teachers said that they did not receive helpful training on the use of student achievement data to improve teaching and learning.

In the face of safety being raised as a persistent concern in some schools, a solid 84 percent said they felt safe at their school. At the same time, more than one third said that order and discipline was still a problem.

In an encouraging sign for Teachers, a large majority said that their instructional materials were in good condition. And equally heartening to many parents was that a whopping 87 percent of Teachers reported that their school offered art classes. About 81 percent said their school gave computer technology as a regular school course.

Not So Student-Friendly

But the survey also showed that only half of schools offer foreign language instruction as part of the school day, and a third of high school Teachers said their schools didn't make it a priority to help students select the best courses to achieve their college or career goals.

From most parents' perspective, the schools are doing at least a satisfactory job of educating their children. About 43 percent said they were very satisfied and another 47 percent said they were satisfied with the quality of their children's Teachers last year.

One parent group sparred with Department of Education officials over the way they represented parent opinion about class size. The DOE reported in its press release that 24 percent of parents wanted smaller class size while 45 percent picked improving school programs as most important. "The issue was limited to a catch-all question at the end [of the survey]," said Leonie Haimson, the executive director of Class Size Matters, "one of 10 different choices offered, apparently designed to minimize this response."

Class Size Top Concern

The question that the DOE was referring to asked parents to pick one among 10 aspects that needed improvement as their top priority, and class size got the biggest single response. It was followed by better enrichment programs (19 percent) and more hands-on learning (13 percent). DOE officials got the 45 percent figure by adding together four choices that could be broadly described as "better programs," including better arts programs, more challenging courses and hands-on learning.

The scores from the surveys will count as 15 percent of a school's grade on its individual report card issued by the DOE. The survey will be distributed again next spring, with the goal of increasing the number of responses.