Teachers Aren't In it for the Money

The Charlotte Observer had a short piece in Sunday's paper giving a few details from a survey of 500 CMS teachers. The survey confirms what most of us who have been involved in the schools could have told CMS free of charge. I will quote the entire article, because this is sad.

The privately funded CMS Task Force mailed surveys to 500 of CMS's 7,739 teachers in July, asking them to rate their agreement with several statements about CMS. They got 199 completed surveys, for a 6.9 percent margin of error. Here are some findings:

• The district values its teachers: 19% agree*
• The district is responsive to teachers' needs and concerns: 13% agree
• Teachers trust district administrators to make decisions that are right for students: 20% agree
• Teachers trust district administrators to make decisions that are right for teachers: 10% agree
• The size of the CMS central office is just right: 13% agree

*Teachers responded on a scale of 1-10, with 1 as the strongest disagreement and 10 as the strongest agreement. The task force counted ratings of 7-10 as "agree."

While we mull over all of the options we have to improve public education in Charlotte and in the rest of North Carolina, maybe we should consider some of the basics like earning the trust and respect of our teachers. How do we do that? Maybe it's as simple as trusting them to do their jobs and showing respect for the work they do under very difficult circumstances. Of course, let's not forget the perennial favorite.....let's pay them more.