Caitlin Churchill, Possip’s Community Director provides an overview of top staff feedback trends from this past November!
Through our family trend blog you can see that families and staff have helpful praise – and feedback. This captures the staff experience of over 3,100 staff members who shared during the month of November. Historically staff sentiment is lower than family sentiment. The trends below may help us understand why staff happiness sits at 59% as compared to family happiness ranging from 77-82% over the past three months.
Top November Staff Trends
Trend #1 Student Discipline:
Much like parent feedback, there is a perception or reality that student behavior issues are escalating. That particular word “escalating” is used again and again – in 10% of the feedback on this issue. This trend persists from last month and is articulated similarly – staff are expressing that students are displaying disruptive and aggressive behavior toward teachers and each other. Here are some tips for addressing bullying and restoring student relationships.
Trend #2 Teacher Workload:
Look back at staff comments from last fall (2021) and you will see that workload was a contributing factor of teacher retention trends a year ago too. To help with this burden, staff are asking that staff meetings are intentional and consistent, and to avoid canceling and shifting meetings. One interesting solution is to help take administrative tasks off their plates – things like printing and preparing classroom paperwork.
Trend #3 Administration Feedback:
Staff members are asking for collaborative and connected experiences with administrators – prioritizing values of respect and empathy. They seek balance – knowing that everyone is listening to feedback and all levels of leadership are vocalizing accountability for the staff culture. That sense of connection and follow-up on feedback is one way Possip reports can aid in balancing and stabilizing the culture. Here are some ideas on how administration can support teachers already at max capacity.
Trend #4 Teacher Trainings:
Teachers are asking that PDs are collaborative and interactive and that there is built-in time and structure for integrating PDs. The overarching takeaway is to consider and learn if PDs resonate with the teacher experience. Here are some helpful teacher training ideas.
Trend #5 Planning Time:
The overwhelming sentiment is that workload is increasing and planning time decreasing – leading people to have to take work home. Giving staff more planning time makes a significant difference to teachers. When this happens, teachers really appreciate it – and some teachers even consider it a reward. When this is not happening, there is a sense that every minute is competing with planning time.
Trend #6 Teacher Vacancies:
Much like last month, staff members are sharing that vacancies are impacting their quality of work and ability to meet student’s needs. The general tone is that staff members are worried about each other – specifically the workload of staff members in support roles or school wide roles who take on the additional burden of vacancies. There is worry that there will continue to be turnover and a lack of people resources. Here are some tips on communicating teacher vacancies.
Trend #7 Compensation:
As might be expected, there are requests for higher pay. Notably there is feedback about staff not receiving back pay, correct paychecks, bonuses, etc. as expected. The intentional organization of such protocols may help, as well as increased urgency and communication about pending resolutions.
We share these top trends in the hopes that they help you have the tools, information, and ideas to support your school. Want to learn more about these trends? Reach out to Jennifer Kehl at jennifer@possip.com.
To check out our family trends in November click here!
