Charleston Teacher Alliance Releases Survey Results on Teaching During the COVID Crisis

January 14, 2021

4:26 PM

The Charleston Teacher Alliance, a teacher advocacy organization in the Charleston County School District, today released the results of its 2020-2021 Midyear Survey on teaching during the COVID crisis. The survey was completed by 744 current Charleston County school teachers.

Here are the results:

744 CCSD teachers completed the survey
50% of teachers do not think instruction should move to all virtual during the pandemic. 38% think it should
- The organization posed this question in a couple of different ways, but the results were basically the same:
  - 50.2% disagree that it is best for all instruction to be online during the pandemic. 37.6% agree. 12.3% don't know
  - 49.6% agree that it is best for students to be in school during the pandemic. 38.2% disagree. 12.2% don't know
77% of teachers say their principal is attentive and responsive to safety issues at their schools
Most schools are following important safety protocols
- 66% of teachers agree that the safety protocols and procedures at their school helps keep students and staff safe
- 52% of teachers feel their school is doing everything it should be doing to keep teachers and students safe
- 62% said their schools enforce social distancing
- 82% said their schools enforce proper mask wearing among students
Proper cleaning is an ongoing concern
- Only 38% of teachers say that their classroom is regularly and properly cleaned according to safety protocols
Teachers have concerns about instruction during the pandemic
- 65% of teachers say it takes much more time to properly plan and prepare for classes. [For reference, 56% teach online and in-person simultaneously, 35% teach in-person only, and 4% teach online only]
- 74% are concerned that online students aren't engaging with their classes. 61% say their school provides online students with reasonable support to help them succeed
- 51% of teachers said plexiglass dividers at their school hinder student learning
51% of teachers say their schools haven't been able to get substitute teachers when needed
- Many of these teachers have to cover classes during their planning periods, exposing them to more danger
71% of math teachers said they were required to implement an entirely new curriculum this year
- When asked to evaluate the curriculum's effectiveness, 22% said poor, 17% good, 11% fair, 8% excellent, and 42% said it was too difficult to tell or that it was a poor year to implement the curriculum
Many issues with technology remain a problem
- Teachers listed a number of technical issues impeding their ability to teach. These include:
  - poor internet reliability for at-home students
  - poor school internet connections
  - microphone and sound issues
  - online students' inability to hear classroom instruction
  - Canvas unreliability
  - poor connectivity with district iPads
  - students too young to handle technology

Raw results of the survey, including teacher comments, can be accessed here.