During its March 15 meeting, the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) Teachers Advisory Council (TAC) – comprised of about 20 teacher leaders from across the Commonwealth – discussed the 2022 Impact Kentucky Working Condition Survey.
The 2022 Impact Kentucky Survey, formerly the TELL Kentucky survey, is the sixth statewide survey of certified educators in Kentucky. Every two years, certified educators working at least half time are given the opportunity to provide input on teaching conditions that can be used to inform improvements within schools, districts and across the state. The TAC has previously provided feedback to KDE and Panorama Education, the company that administers the survey for KDE, in shaping the survey format and content.
This is the first working conditions survey that has been administered to teachers since the COVID-19 pandemic began. More than 38,000 certified employees responded to the survey, and approximately 33,000 of those were teachers. A school had to have 50% of staff participation for their school data to be released.
Erin Ashcraft, from KDE’s Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness (OELE), shared information about the Resource Hub on the Impact Kentucky results website. Resources include navigating and understanding data, a teacher reflection guide, and an action planning guide for school-based learning and district leaders.
Sharing feedback on the survey, TAC members said there was loose interpretation on some questions, particularly those on academic coaching. Ashcraft said that feedback is the reason statewide interpretation is “almost impossible.”
“The great things about this data is it’s yours to use,” said Ashcraft. “There are so many unique school structures, unique school roles, especially post-COVID, [and] the amount of innovative roles that have been created in schools ….
“I always try to present with the caution that statewide aggregates are almost impossible …,” she said. “This [data] is for your school to think about the roles that you have.”
Byron Wilson, a teacher at the Kentucky School for the Deaf, sought clarification on how principals might use the data results to make improvements on specific areas across the school, even though the responses are anonymous.
Ashcraft said that principals could evaluate results through roles and identities, such as years of experience, gender or grade level taught.
Veda Stewart from KDE’s OELE said that respondents “may want to self-reveal because they may want to have those intimate conversations, but that is totally left up to that community.” said
“We make sure the overall survey information has anonymity so that people feel comfortable being honest in their responses.”
Ashcraft and Stewart stressed the importance of discussing results on a local level, and using the Resource Hub to navigate action planning with the results.
Updates from Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass
Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass provided the TAC with an overarching view of education-related bills in the 2022 Kentucky legislative session. He noted increased funding in the proposed budget for pupil transportation, area technology centers and kindergarten.
“We have some things I think we should be positive about,” said Glass.
Glass also reminded TAC of the United We Learn initiative. Unveiled at the 2021 Kentucky Education Summit, United We Learn: Investing in Kentucky’s Future, One Student at a Time, is a collective effort aimed at forming a bold and forward-thinking new direction for education to give the Commonwealth’s students the learning experiences they need and deserve.
“What’s at the heart of the United We Learn effort is a more human vision of education and a better, rounded vision of education,” said Glass.
Sara Greene, a TAC member and teacher in Fayette County Public Schools, expressed gratitude to Commissioner Glass for his leadership during the 2022 legislative session.
“I wanted to say thank you for your leadership during this legislative session and this difficult year,” said Greene.
In other business, the council:
- Heard from Shara Savage in KDE’s Office of Assessment and Accountability about changes to terminology in accountability and assessment effective for the 2022-2023 school year;
- Heard from Jennifer Emberton, a GoTeachKY Ambassador from Allen County Schools, about techniques for self-accountability and maintaining a positive mindset; and
- Received a legislative update from KDE’s Director of Government Relations, Brian Perry. KDE currently is monitoring several bills in various stages of the legislative process, including legislation surrounding postsecondary and transition requirements, face coverings in schools and school breakfast.
The TAC will meet next on June 14.
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