NORWALK, Conn. – Most Norwalk teachers feel they’re regarded as “replaceable,” Norwalk Federation of Teachers President Mary Yordon said.
Yordon, at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, cited a recent survey of the union’s 1,000 members. “Fully 75 percent” of the teachers who responded to the survey disagree with the statement, “the district cares about retaining capable employees,” she said, commenting, “That’s very troubling to me.”
She had positive comments in her “quick” rendition of the survey results, delivered as a public speaker.
“Some things” have improved since the last survey in October and 75% of Norwalk teachers say they’ll “be able to muddle through the new strategies and resources that they’re expected to use… all of the changes of the curriculum in the beginning of the year,” she said.
Teachers are also appreciating some of the professional development they’ve received, she said, attributing the “useful” instruction to “the hard work of the curriculum staff.
Yordon’s comments come on the heels of national teacher survey showing that “satisfaction rates appear to have hit an all-time low.”
Results from the first Merrimack College Teacher Survey, commissioned by the Winston School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack College and conducted by the nonprofit, nonpartisan EdWeek Research Center, came out in April.
“The survey results suggest a deep disillusionment of many teachers who feel overworked, underpaid, and under-appreciated, with potential implications for a once-in-a-generation shift in the teaching profession,” EdWeek reports.
The survey of 1,324 of the nation’s teachers was done between Jan. 9 and Feb. 23.
“Just 12 percent of U.S. teachers describe themselves as ‘very satisfied’ with their jobs, a precipitous drop from the {a previous survey done by MetLife}, which was 39 percent when last administered in 2011 and generally hovered between 40 and 60 percent for previous decades,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute reports. “Given the profound Covid-driven disruptions under which schools have labored in the last a couple of years, it can’t be too much of a surprise that teachers are feeling the strain. That said, a majority (56 percent) still say they are somewhat or very satisfied with their jobs. Four in ten, however, say they are ‘very likely’ or ‘fairly likely’ to leave the profession in the next two years, though this not necessarily a new phenomenon, nor does their stated intention to leave necessarily translate into them actually doing so.”
James Martinez, Norwalk Public Schools Education Administrator for Counseling & Social Services, Homebound Instruction, and 504’s, in May mentioned concerns for the staff’s mental health.
“This has been the last couple of years education has been one of the most, I can’t, I’ve got no words. I don’t even know how teachers, you know, staff are, how they’re still standing,” Martinez said to the Common Council Public Safety & General Government Committee.
Yordon, on Tuesday said, “There are some troubling things happening in the district. Many teachers report that they feel replaceable, that they’re being treated in that way, and they feel particularly feel overwhelmed. There’s a disconnect between the expectations of the work that is possible, and the actual work that is possible. It’s too much.”
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