January ’09 - Linden Board of Education Fall Staff Survey results highlight overall positive working conditions and a caring environment…and provide focus to improve communications and visibility of the Board.

This fall, Linden’s Board of Education initiated a staff survey to gain base-line data on the working environment and communications in the District for all employee groups. Successful practices, staff’s perceptions, and areas to improve were identified from the survey.

Positive items to maintain and to improve (percentage of employees who responded neutral, agree and strongly agree):

· 97.8% - working conditions in Linden are good

· 90.3% - freedom to do their job well

· 89.8% - employees are encouraged to share work-related ideas and suggestions

· 89.1% - my building principal has a real interest in the personal welfare and happiness of his/her staff

· 89.1% - respect my building principal

· 88.1% - work environment permits free and open exchanges of ideas and information

· 87.6% - people in my school seem to care about one another

· 84.3% - Board is doing a good job

· 83.7% - communication between immediate administrator are satisfactory

· 83.2% - sufficient materials or supplies to get their job done

Focus areas to improve (percentage of employees who responded neutral, agree and strongly agree):

• 53.0% - administration gives me a “pat on the back” when I do a good job

• 66.0% - pleased with visibility of Board at the schools and at school functions
• 68.7% - communication between staff and Board satisfactory
• 69.1% - trust in the Board
• 72.5% - satisfied with the communication between staff and administration
• 73.0% - Board respects the work I do

The Board survey also included three open-ended questions. Many common themes were recognized as the responses were tracked. When staff was asked what was the single biggest problem they faced in their job, the most consistent response by far was lack of time. New curriculum demands, teaching methods, and class size concerns were also frequent responses. Additional concerns included comments about administrative trust, lack of communication, and lack of Special Education support. However, when asked what was good about the Linden School District, frequently mentioned positives included teachers, staff, parents/community, and administrators. When asked what a Board member ought to do to ensure Linden students are well-prepared for the future, the most frequent responses focused on maintaining and/or increasing the district focus on technology. Additional frequent responses included support for the “average” student and maintaining small class sizes.

The results provide the Board and administration with multiple directions to improve the understanding of the District’s need to improve communication methods and to improve staff’s perceptions of the Board’s influence over district operations. Along with these noted focus areas, the survey also highlighted many success stories within the District. Overall, the survey results do not show that the staff has drastic issues/concerns. However, these results will provide the Board accurate direction as they move to reduce the budget and revise the District’s Strategic Plan this spring. If you want to view the entire survey results, please contact the superintendent’s office.