Survey shows link between teacher satisfaction, student success

A new Gallup survey indicates that most Kyrene employees enjoy their jobs and pass positive feelings on to students in their classrooms.

By Diana Whittle

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Gallup, the well-known pollster, reports that the majority of teachers in the Kyrene district say they care about the quality of their job performance and believe strongly in their professional mission as educators.

The teachers’ personal commitment and enthusiasm for their work are qualities that researchers say are recognized by students and translate into the students’ improved academic and social performance.

The finding is one of the key outcomes of the survey, which was developed by Gallup and administered to 1,989 employees in the district, for  a total participation rate of 83 percent.

The final results, shared at a recent Governing Board meeting by Dr. Mark Knight, assistant  superintendent of the district, indicate that most employees also are engaged in what they do day to day in Kyrene classrooms.

“Engagement is an important indicator of performance on the job,” said Knight. “Gallup uses similar questions at schools across the country to identify attitudes and trends in employee behavior.

“In (the pollsters’) experience, teacher engagement levels are directly related to the engagement levels of their students, which are also tied to student achievement. Even a percentage-point increase in a school’s average student engagement level can be associated with gains in academic achievement.”

The survey included participation from teachers, principals, classified and support personnel.

Of the 12 questions used on the survey, eight responses showed improved scores in their accumulated results.

For example, 13 schools reported gains in their employee engagement from previous surveys, with Colina and Mariposa increasing the most. The highest overall engagement at an elementary school was at Waggoner; at a middle school, it was Pueblo.

The Kyrene School District offices in South Tempe.

Other important findings show that elementary-school employees achieved the highest percentage, at 51 percent of engaged employees; middle school employees came in at a close second, with 47 percent being engaged; assistant principals demonstrated the highest rate of engagement, at 56 percent.

Knight explained that the results of the survey are shared with employees at each school and action plans for improvement are created.

“We value the survey because we want to maintain the status of Kyrene as a high-achieving school district,” said Knight.

“The success is measured by setting high expectations and then monitoring progress along the way. The survey is simply one measure of a variable that influences student achievement.  In this specific example, the variable is engagement.”

Each year for the last seven years, employees were asked the same 12 questions for the sake of consistency. This also allows comparison between Kyrene and other school districts, Knight noted.

The effort at consistency, however, brought into discussion a question from Michelle Fahy, a Governing Board member and teacher for the Tempe Union high schools, who asked if additional questions could be added to any future surveys.

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