'We've got some work to do:' Survey shows many Williamson teachers don't feel valued

Anika Exum, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
6

Williamson County Schools earlier this month released the results of an anonymous survey.

The key question?

Whether teachers felt valued by those around them at work — including by district and school-level administrative staff, the school board, parents and the greater community.

The results: Less than a third of respondents that they felt valued by the school board. And just over a third said they felt valued by the district administration.

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However, a majority of respondents said that when it came to school administration and parents, they felt valued—As much as 78% of respondents among elementary school teachers.

"I'm actually glad that that's where it is because (school administration are) the ones they work with on a daily basis," superintendent Jason Golden said to the board of education at its August work session. "And next, they see their parents quite often."

"But frankly, if you look at us, the Central Office and the school board, we've got some work to do."

Here are the publicly released results from 1,114 teachers who shared by whom they felt valued:

  • School Administration: 78%

  • Parents: 78%

  • Central Office (Dist. Admin.): 38%

  • Board of Education: 29%

  • Community: 45%

  • School Administration: 70%

  • Parents: 62%

  • Central Office (Dist. Admin.): 36%

  • Board of Education: 27%

  • Community: 37%

  • School Administration: 73%

  • Parents: 65%

  • Central Office (Dist. Admin.): 33%

  • Board of Education: 23%

  • Community: 36%

School psychologist, Dana Hood greets students as they arrive for the first day of school at Edmondson Elementary School on Friday, August 6, 2021, in Brentwood, Tenn.
School psychologist, Dana Hood greets students as they arrive for the first day of school at Edmondson Elementary School on Friday, August 6, 2021, in Brentwood, Tenn.

Board member: 'This is scary'

The teacher survey could be a sign of lingering hiring pains. Or a moment which could allow Williamson County Schools and the community it serves to address teacher issues.

"This is scary," board member Eric Welch said in response to seeing the data. "You talk about our greatest asset in the school system... and we've got fewer than one in four teachers in an anonymous survey telling us that they feel valued by this board.

"There's just no positive spin on that, that's a bad number right there."

Vickie Hall, the assistant superintendent of Human Resources, said some teachers provided open-ended answers.

"Generally speaking, the thought was that there was some out-of-touch-ness going on between the board and honestly Central Office with what's going on in the building," Hall said.

Following this initial survey, Golden said the district is planning this fall to conduct the Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Survey.

All district employees will be surveyed. Their job satisfaction will be compared to the company's job satisfaction data gathered in recent years.

Alongside this tangible step forward, Golden offered the school board a tip.

"My life experiences...When you're interacting with someone and they develop that trust, they're going to feel valued more," Golden said to the board on how to proceed.

"So, I would suggest to you that the more we interact with the people who are serving students, the better off they are going to be and the more they're going to feel valued."

Anika Exum is a reporter covering Williamson County for The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network — Tennessee. Reach her at aexum@tennessean.com, 615-347-7313, or on Twitter @aniexum.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Williamson County teachers take anonymous survey about being valued