Log In


Reset Password

Teachers air views in survey

Sentiment up for most; Kemper slips

Across the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school district, about 4 in 5 teachers believe that their respective schools were a good place to work and learn last year.

The findings were revealed in a statewide Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Colorado survey, which measures teacher attitudes on a number of topics. Administered every other year, the anonymous survey results are intended to support improvement planning and inform policy decisions.

Re-1 Superintendent Alex Carter was pleased with the district-wide findings, touting the TELL survey as a solid indicator of the district’s climate and culture. “It was good feedback,” Carter told school board members earlier this month. “We learned a lot from it this year.”

Despite the positive feedback at the district level, educators at Kemper Elementary were more critical. With a 100 percent response rate, the highest of any Re-1 school, the number of satisfied teachers at Kemper Elementary dipped this past school year, according to the TELL survey. Overall, the number of Kemper teachers that believed the school was a good place to work and learn dropped from 81 percent in 2013 to 67 percent in 2015.

According to the TELL survey, Kemper teachers complained of routine paperwork, classrooms interruptions, few training and support opportunities, a lack of two-way communication with parents and the community, inconsistent student discipline, a lack of trust and mutual respect, unfair evaluations, ineffective leadership, lack of professional development opportunities, curriculum failures and a lack of encouragement.

At the board meeting on May 19, Kemper Elementary principal Angela Galyon met behind closed doors with district leaders to discuss personnel issues. At least two Kemper teachers were also invited to the private meeting.

No district official, including Carter or any school board member, replied to a Cortez Journal email seeking comment about Kemper employees that were reportedly forced out of their jobs this month.

Prior to meeting in secret, Re-1 human resources director Dan Porter announced that 26 district employees resigned at the end of the school year. He said the district was currently advertising 17 new positions for the next academic year.

According to the TELL survey, 79 percent of all district teachers indicated that their respective schools were a good place to work and learn last year, up from 69 percent in 2013. Although that sentiment dipped among teachers at Kemper Elementary, every school in the district saw an increase.

At Manaugh Elementary, the number of teachers who responded that the school was a good place to work and learn spiked from 44 to 67 percent over a two-year span. Mesa Elementary saw a rise to 91 percent, up from 88 percent. Lewis-Arriola Elementary and Cortez Middle School each saw gains to 90 and 87 percent, respectively, up from 80 and 77 percent. And Montezuma-Cortez High School teachers who thought the school was a good place to work and learn jumped to 63 percent, up from 44 percent.

For complete results, visit www.tellcolorado.org/results.

tbaker@cortezjournal.com