Ashley High School and it's Principal Jackson Norvell are sure to be back in the news in coming weeks. Ashley made headlines as teacher surveys showed working conditions at the school had deteriorated rapidly under it's new leadership. A number of new surveys are underway. Parents and teachers alike are already expressing concerns over how those surveys are being handled. But before we get to what's coming up, let's take a quick look back at how bad thing had gotten under Norvell's leadership.
Media reports told of severe problems with the change of leadership at Ashley High School. A review of all New Hanover County schools finds that Ashley teachers rank their new leadership the worst in the county by a significant margin.
A 2014 North Carolina Teachers Working Conditions Survey showed that under Norvell working conditions at the school had plummeted. In emails to WWAY teachers wrote "It has been the worst year at Ashley ever this year. Our principal is a bully and is retaliatory," Another described the school under Jackson's leadership as "A scary place to work." In a report at Fox Wilmington, Ashley teachers said Principal Norvell has consistently punished those who spoke up in the school and that teachers are in fear for their jobs.
Results from the survey only reinforced teachers concerns expressed in media reports. Below are some of the actual results from the survey.
-School administrators consistently enforce rules for
student conduct
Dropped
from 66% to 16.9%
-School administrators support teachers’ efforts to
maintain discipline in the classroom
Dropped
72.0% to 36.6%
-Teachers are recognized as educational experts.
Dropped
from 84.3% to 39.1%
-Teachers are trusted to make sound professional
decisions about instruction.
Dropped
from 75.0% to 44.3%
-Teachers are relied upon to make decisions about
educational issues.
Dropped
from 75.0% to 34.8%
-Teachers have an appropriate level of influence on
decision making in this school.
Dropped
from 62.0% to 17.1%
-The faculty and staff have a shared vision.
Dropped
from 73.5% to 29.4%
-There is an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in
this school.
Dropped
from 59.2% to 18.8%
-Teachers feel comfortable raising issues and concerns
that are important to them.
Dropped
68.6% to 20.0%
-The school leadership consistently supports teachers.
Dropped
from 72.3% to 26.9%
-Teacher performance is assessed objectively.
Dropped
from 73.5% to 46.3%
-The school leadership makes a sustained effort to
address teacher concerns about
leadership issues.
Dropped
from 68.7% to 27.4%
There are a lot of unanswered questions and concerns about at least one of the upcoming surveys. We will address those issues in future reports.
A complete copy of the 2014 survey can be found here:
