Feb-March Advisor 2020 Online

SURVEYING

6 CEA ADVISOR FEBRUARY–MARCH 2020

ANXIETY AND TRAUMA TOP CHALLENGES FACING STUDENTS, SURVEY FINDS Teachers point to testing, lack of resources, other factors

Connecticut is ranked among the best states in the country for K-12 education; however, findings from a January 2020 CEA/AFT Connecticut/WFSB survey should raise alarms, as Connecticut teachers increasingly find themselves in unsafe work environments, encountering more children impacted by trauma, facing a persistent shortage of school counselors, social workers, and other supports necessary for their students, and more. Nearly 1,500 public school teachers responded to the survey. Increased trauma, insufficient resources “I have seen an increase in the number of traumatized students and the frequency of such incidents in my 20+ years of teaching.” Studies have shown that disruptive or dangerous behavior in the classroom often stems from toxic stress students experience as a result of repeated trauma outside of school. The CEA/AFT Connecticut/WFSB survey bears this out, with half of all respondents saying trauma

insufficient interventions to help students in crisis and mitigate disruptions in their classrooms. Nationally, according to Phi Delta Kappa’s 2019 PDK Poll, more than a third of all teachers (37 percent) fear for their safety in the classroom, citing student fighting and in-person bullying as major culprits. In Connecticut, roughly six out of ten teachers (58 percent) have had to evacuate their classrooms because of disruptions that threatened the safety of their students. The problem is most prevalent in the early grades, where 78 percent of Connecticut elementary teachers report having to evacuate their classrooms because of concerns for the safety of their students. In addition to wanting more resources and interventions for their students, 98 percent of teachers surveyed strongly believe educators should have a say in the resources required to address the needs of disruptive students. Kindergarten start age Contributing to the pressures placed on many young learners and their teachers is the fact that children as young as four are entering the classroom in Connecticut, which has set the youngest kindergarten start age (four years, eight months) in the United States. The vast majority (77 percent) of elementary school teachers surveyed would like to change Connecticut’s minimum start age to five. “Our young learners enter kindergarten sometimes at four years old and are expected to complete tasks that some of us did not learn until first or second grade.” “The academic demands are not always developmentally appropriate, and we overemphasize strategies and skills and spend very little time on meaningful content…” “Providing universal preschool and changing the minimum start age for kindergarten makes sense,” CEA President Jeff Leake told WFSB Channel 3 reporter Courtney Zieller. “It relieves much of the undue stress we put on our youngest learners, some of whom are only four years old and sharing classrooms with children who are six-and-a-half. We need to ensure that children entering kindergarten are developmentally ready.” High-stakes testing “Too much high-pressure testing is hurting students’ mental health.” Connecticut spends millions of dollars on the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC) and other high- stakes testing every year, in spite of teachers’ overwhelming assertions that SBAC has a negative impact on classroom instruction. Of the

CEA President Jeff Leake and Executive Director Donald Williams discuss survey findings with WFSB Channel 3 reporter Courtney Zieller. Watch news stories at cea.org .

teachers surveyed whose instruction is impacted by SBAC—which is administered to students in grades three through eight—94 percent report a negative impact. Nationally, 94 percent of teachers and 77 percent of parents agree that there are better alternatives to high- stakes, standardized testing for measuring student achievement. “Teaching at the elementary level, there is no longer room in our curriculum for any emphasis on social skills. Education is no longer about the students; it’s about the scores.” Social development and anxiety “Academic expectations have been raised to unrealistic levels that are developmentally inappropriate, and everyone is wondering why children are struggling.” Seven in ten teachers surveyed said schools are not placing enough emphasis on students’ social growth experienced teachers (70 percent of those who have taught for at least six years—and in most cases, 20 years or longer) and elementary teachers (77 percent) want to place a greater emphasis on children’s social development. Given these findings, it is hardly surprising that 71 percent of teachers overall say anxiety is the greatest challenge facing students. While more than two-thirds of middle and high school teachers reported anxiety as one of the biggest challenges facing their students, anxiety is ranked highest among the challenges facing students in the elementary grades (as reported by 74 percent of their teachers). Classrooms in decline In addition to stressors within their classrooms, teachers responding to the survey described working in buildings that have fallen into disrepair, with classroom conditions that pose health risks to them and versus academic growth. In particular, the state’s most

been cleaned since the school opened, and the air could not get through the dirt that had built up. I documented days when the temperature was 54 degrees and students had to wear their coats and hats in class.” Just under half of teachers surveyed (47 percent) reported that poor air

quality in their classrooms or deteriorating conditions in their school with teaching and learning. Problems reported by at least one-third of teachers included extreme heat or cold in classrooms (cited by 85 percent of buildings interfered

94% of teachers whose

instruction is impacted by the SBAC test say the

impact is negative.

teachers), dirty air vents (49 percent), damaged walls or ceiling tiles (47 percent), leaking roofs (41 percent), mold (36 percent), and rodent droppings (33 percent). A profession in decline? Sounding the alarm on trends in K-12 education in the state, Connecticut teachers are taking a hard look at the status of their profession and their job satisfaction. Forty-four percent would not choose a teaching career if given another chance. Nationwide, more than half of all adults (54 percent) do not want their own children to enter the teaching profession. This declining interest in teaching begs the question: How can Connecticut replace public school teachers who will soon start retiring in large numbers when fewer people see teaching as a desirable profession? “In other countries, the work that teachers do is valued and revered,” says CEA Executive Director Donald Williams. “That is not often the case here. Teachers work to build important connections with their students every day. They are the ones shaping the future of our country. And yet, what they face here is less support than they require and less respect than they deserve. Through our outreach to members, communities, policymakers, and the media, those are the things CEA is working to change.”

experienced by their students is a significant cause of disruptive behaviors in their classroom, and 47 percent pointing to anxiety as a factor as well. “Especially in the younger grades, students struggle to communicate their trauma, and it manifests in violent outbursts.” Although virtually every Connecticut teacher surveyed (99 percent) would like support to deal with the root causes of student misbehavior, nearly three out of four teachers (73 percent) maintain that not enough support is available at their school. Roughly two-thirds (65 percent) assert that not enough is being done to promote trauma- informed instruction and social- emotional learning. This is especially the case among elementary school teachers, 85 percent of whom report

their students. Among other chronic problems, they cited the presence of mold, dirty air vents, rodents, and extreme temperatures. “I did not have heat for three years, because the vents had never

77% of elementary school teachers believe children should not start kindergarten before the age of five.