Results from the Fall 2014 Dallas ISD Climate Survey of campus staff show that support for the direction of individual campuses and the district as a whole continues to grow. The survey found that 74 percent of campus staff agree or strongly agree with the direction of their campus, up four points from the Spring 2014 survey results.
Additionally, 48 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree with the overall direction of the district (with another 26% neutral), up almost four points from the Spring 2014 survey. Campus morale also continues to improve, up nearly 15 percentage points from the Spring 2013 survey.
“These survey results reflect what I see every week when I visit campuses across the district,” said Superintendent Mike Miles. “Our schools are making progress. Principals and other school leaders are working hard to coach teachers and create a culture of support and encouragement.”
Positive responses to survey questions increased across the board compared with previous surveys, with the largest increases seen in responses to questions about student discipline. For example, 61.5 percent of staff agreed or strongly agreed that “Discipline is enforced consistently and effectively at my campus,” marking a 9.7 percentage point increase from just seven months ago and reversing a downward trend seen over several previous climate surveys.
Teacher responses on the Fall 2014 Climate survey show that they feel the quality of support they are receiving from their principals continues to improve. Compared to previous surveys, more teachers reported that they agree or strongly agree that their campus leadership is helping them improve the quality of their instruction (69.4%) and that the instructional feedback they receive helps improve their quality of instruction (68.9%).
“These increases are particularly important,” said Deputy Superintendent Ann Smisko, “because they show the work the district is doing around raising the quality of instruction, including implementation of the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), is making a difference. A central focus of TEI is ensuring that teachers receive meaningful support to grow as professionals and that is what our campus leaders are providing.”
More staff, over 13,000, than ever chose to participate in the Fall 2014 Climate Survey, including more than 8,000 teachers (nearly 85 percent of all teachers). The survey, which is administered by Texas A&M University, is completely voluntary and anonymous. Check out the full districtwide survey results.
