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At MinnCAN, we make a point of talking to teachers—through Twitter, town halls, classroom visits and one-on-one meetings—because we know Minnesota can’t close its achievement gap without the people on the front lines of that effort.
But meeting with every teacher in the state just isn’t feasible. So we did the next best thing: we commissioned a 28-question poll of Minnesota teachers to get a more comprehensive sense of what teachers value and believe.
Click here to view the executive summary.
We asked a lot of questions about topics ranging from effective teaching to educator evaluations, to professional development to school staffing decisions.
And teachers had a lot to say:
- 83 percent of respondents think that teacher effectiveness should play a role in deciding whether or not a teacher receives tenure.
- 74 percent say that teacher effectiveness should play a role in deciding when a teacher receives tenure.
- Nearly two-thirds of teachers who have taught between one and 20 years believe effectiveness should be the primary consideration in layoff decisions.
- Nearly 90 percent of respondents agree teacher evaluations that align with and help drive professional development opportunities for teachers will help advance student learning.
This poll echoes what I’ve heard in meetings with educators across the state: teachers want to bring more accountability to the profession. They want policies that encourage and reward their hard work.
But too often that message gets lost. That’s why we need your help spreading the word. Please let me know if MinnCAN can count on you to help share the findings of our poll with your local newspaper.