For Immediate Release

94% of parents satisfied with their child’s teacher

Jul 1, 2008 7:22 PM

On July 1, the Department of Education released the results of the second annual Learning Environment Survey, which asks parents, educators and students in grades 6-12 to assess how well their schools are addressing their needs. The results, along with student attendance, will determine 15% of the letter grade on each school’s next Progress Report. The DOE reported that it received more than 800,000 responses, almost 220,000 more than last year. The findings show that 94% of parents are satisfied with their children’s teachers, which improves upon the 90% approval rate teachers received from parents in the previous survey.

UFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following response:

“As educators, it’s great to see that 94 percent of parents responding to the Learning Environment Survey are satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of their students’ teachers. Such a high approval rate reinforces our long-held belief that the most important aspect of education and student success is the interaction between teachers and students in the classroom. We’re also not surprised to see that parents continue to rank smaller class sizes as a top priority and that they share educators’ desire for more collaboration and a greater focus on school safety. And we think parents’ wish for more rigorous classes could reflect concerns about the school system’s growing emphasis on standardized test preparation, seemingly above all else.

“The fact that parents think so highly of their children’s teachers also indicates how selfless our educators are. They give their all despite feeling that the central administration isn’t listening to their concerns – a fact reflected in our survey last month asking educators to evaluate the chancellor and the Department of Education. True accountability happens only when everyone takes responsibility for educating our kids. We asked the system to add bottom to top accountability because we know we all have an important role to play, and the more we can collaborate, listen to and support one another, the more our kids will benefit.”