In my Outtakes column for Aug. 4, I recommend that Achieve Escambia survey the teachers of the Escambia County School District to find out what is working and what isn’t in the classrooms.
Staff surveys helped Quint Studer to turn around Baptist Hospital in the 1990s and establish a system for excellence that is still recognized 20 years later. He found that employee satisfaction was critical in improving patient care.
Based on my recent interviews with current and past teachers, I believe that Achieve Escambia will find out what’s happening in the classrooms is very different from what Superintendent Malcolm Thomas is preaching.
For the survey to be effective, teachers will have to be promised anonymity. The ones that have visited my office are very afraid of retaliation from their principals and the district administration. They have shared stories of teachers being punished and contracts not renewed of those who dared to speak out.
“How do you make the system better when it’s run by a dictator?†one told me this week.
I’ve been told of several schemes in place to work around district policies and state law. Phantom classes have been set up in schools to get around the class-size amendment. Students are temporarily assigned to deans and guidance counselors and then moved into regular classes after the state is given the classroom counts.
Teachers are pressured to change grades. One told me her principal said, “What’s the difference in giving a student a 20 or 50 on test? They are both failing grades.â€
Of course, a grade of 50 is easier to pull up to a D.
Middle schools put average students in Algebra classes to get more points when the state calculates the school’s grade. The students have to re-take the class in high school to pull up their GPA for college.
Teachers are asked to combine referrals to avoid suspending a student.
Not all students in ISS (In School Suspension) are given their class work so they fall behind in their classes. It’s optional for teachers to give assignments to ISS kids in some schools.
Intervention plans are not done for some of the most challenging students. High and middle school students with disabilities are not given the care mandated by Florida law, just placed in ISS.
Are these allegations true or the gripes of disgruntled teachers?
A confidential survey of all teachers will give us the necessary input to see how big a problem we have.
Achieve Escambia won’t achieve much in public education without accurately diagnosing the problems.