Amanda Richards, Possip’s Reporting Team Lead, analyzed data from our Pulse Checks! The results were able to provide you with the top 10 feedback trends from Possip staff!
This past week, we received over 489 responses from staff members through Possip Pulse Checks! 56% of staff members were happy this week.
Top 10 Trends
What is top of mind for teachers and school staff this week?
Student Discipline and Student Behavior
Teacher Workload
Curriculum
Teacher Morale
Communication to Teachers
School Schedule
Facility-related Topics and Cleanliness
Teacher Vacancies
Teacher Duties/Responsibilities
Mental Health Support
Top 10 Trends Breakdown
#1: Feedback on student discipline and student behavior.
Teachers are requesting more disciplinary support, and stricter consequences. Also, they want guidance on best practices for managing students with repeated disciplinary problems and consistent systems on campus to handle discipline situations. We also heard that teacher turnover and lack of consistent teachers in classrooms is increasing this need for improved behavior systems.
#2: Comments about teacher workloads and feedback on supporting teachers with sustainability.
Our data shows that teachers don’t have the capacity to sub classes and meet all their IEP requirements for student success. It is also a struggle for teachers to handle behavior in larger classes, attend all the necessary meetings, and complete all the other teacher duties. We also heard that teachers are feeling under appreciated and need more time to get all their work done.
#3: Feedback on the curriculum content and class offerings.
Teachers shared that they don’t feel like their curriculum is matching end-of-year assessment. Or, that the curriculum is not effective, and doesn’t motivate students. Staff members also shared they want to start new course offerings and want more flexibility in changing their current curriculum.
#4: Feedback on improving teacher morale.
We heard that teachers feel their school needs to focus on being more positive, united, and share more positive feedback consistently. Teachers also want team-building activities and more joy factor in schools like spirit days.
#5: Comments about improving communication to teachers.
We heard teachers and staff members share a desire for more proactive weather closure communication. Furthermore, they want better communication to new teachers on campus specifically. More generally, teachers want information being shared consistently, accurately, and a place to find all the communication in one streamlined location.
#6: Feedback on the school schedule.
Teachers are giving feedback on master schedule changes that are happening. Likewise, they want ideas to make student schedules more effective and requests to keep prep periods consistent during the school day.
#7: Comments about facility-related topics and cleanliness on campus.
Teachers and staff members are asking for the bathrooms to be cleaner, and more cleaning supplies in each classroom available. They also request functioning HVAC systems, specific feedback for custodians, and more space in the cafeteria for students.
#8: Feedback about teacher vacancies on campus.
Staff members are requesting to fill teacher and interventionist vacancies as soon as possible. We also heard teachers sharing ideas on how to fund new teacher positions. In addition, teachers are asking a lot of questions about staffing for next year and wanting a plan for the final months of school.
#9: Comments about decreasing teacher duties/responsibilities.
Teachers had questions about completing morning and afternoon duties, bus and carline duties. Similarly, they also had questions about recess duty, lunch duty, testing duties, and beyond. Teachers are sharing that they are feeling overwhelmed and not feeling valued because of too many additional responsibilities. They are worried that teachers will leave the profession from burnout.
#10: Requests for teacher mental health support and giving staff members additional support to work on their own mental health and support student mental health.
Teachers are asking for more trauma-informed instruction support, and requesting to put less pressure on test scores. They also want more time to have student check-ins and more focus on SEL curriculum. We also heard that teachers are struggling with their own mental health support and feel like they’re failing and can’t meet expectations. There were requests for staff community building to give them a positive outlet. Moreover, they want to take things off their plate, and have administrators check-in with teachers about how they are doing.
To finish, we wanted to highlight two topics that didn’t make the Top 10, but were particularly interesting staff feedback trends:
#11: Next School Year Information
Teachers and staff members are wanting more information on the next school year. We heard teachers wanting more communication on any master schedule changes. Additionally, they want more extracurricular and class offerings for students, and teacher placement for next year. We also heard a trend of teachers wanting district and school leaders to ask teachers for their input leading up to those decisions.
#12: Student academic support
We heard that teachers and staff members want more support in how to best help students academically. We heard teachers wanting information on how teachers can best prepare students. For example, they are asking for next year’s skills students will need to master, and also, they want time to collaborate with other grade levels to make sure all students get the support they need this school year. In addition, there were requests for more time with reading and math intervention daily and more PD on how to support catching up kids in all subjects.
If you have questions about these top 10 feedback trends from Possip staff, how to resolve them in your school or have feedback on our trends blog, please reach out to amanda@possip.com!
