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TELL Delaware Survey to Allow Educators to Share Their Workplace NeedsJan 09, 2013 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Educators across the state will have the chance to share openly what they need to do their jobs in an anonymous online survey that launches later this month. TELL (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning) Delaware will be open to all school-based, licensed educators - including administrators. By Jan. 22, every school will receive a packet of letters that contains the individual seven-digit, anonymous access codes for educators in the school. These will be sent to each school's representative with the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA), the state's largest school employee union. For buildings without union representation, the packets will be sent to the principals. Principals and DSEA representatives then will distribute the letters randomly at a faculty meeting. "Teachers know what they need to succeed. We know teachers need to be heard. This confidential survey represents a chance for us to gather information that will help us find the best path forward," said Governor Jack Markell, who will launch the survey with teachers at South Dover Elementary on Jan. 22. Educators will have until Feb. 15 to take the survey. Results will be released in March. "Great teaching is critical to great student learning. But it's a real challenge to expect excellent teaching without providing teachers with the supportive working conditions they deserve," Secretary of Education Mark Murphy said. "TELL Delaware gives educators the opportunity to tell us anonymously what supports are available in their schools and to help us identify what might be needed to better serve them." Funded by part of the state's federal Race to the Top grant, TELL Delaware is a project of the Delaware Department of Education's Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Unit. It will be administered by the New Teacher Center, which since 2008 has conducted similar surveys in 20 states, including almost one million educators. The project is a collaboration between the department and key partners: the State Board of Education, DSEA, Delaware School Board Association, Delaware Association of School Administrators and the Rodel Foundation of Delaware. The state aims to have at least a 50 percent response rate in each school, the minimum needed for public release of each building's results. A real-time response rate tracker is available at www.telldelaware.org to help promote broad participation in the survey. "We know what makes a great school - a strong collaborative leadership, meaningful professional development, appropriate class sizes, time for collaboration with colleagues. This survey has a great chance to help schools and districts see where they are and where they need to improve," DSEA President Frederika Jenner said. "We are urging our teachers to complete it so that we can track progress. There is so much research on what makes a great school that striving to improve in these areas is really a no-brainer." More information is available on the TELL Delaware website: www.telldelaware.org . A toll-free help desk also will be available during the survey period at (855) 258-2818. Members of the media are welcome to join Gov. Markell for the launch at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22. South Dover Elementary is located at 955 S. State Street, Dover. Delaware's Department of Education is committed to promoting the highest quality education for every Delaware student by providing visionary leadership and superior service. Contact Info. Alison Kepner Delaware Department of Education 401 Federal Street, Suite #2 Dover, Delaware 19901 Phone: (302) 735-4035 Fax: (302) 739-4654 Email: [email protected] ((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to [email protected]. |