What is the FCPS Working Conditions Survey?
Is this survey a part of the Principal Evaluation?
What about Instructional Assistants, why are they not being included?
Why should I take the survey?
I'm busy. What do I have to do to take the survey?
Is the survey really anonymous?
What areas does the survey address?
How will the results be used?
Why are there two versions of the survey?
What if I lose my access code to the survey?
What if someone didn't get a code?
What if I work in more than one school?
How is this survey being paid for?
Who is the New Teacher Center?
Who else has taken the survey?
Who can I call if I need help?

What is the FCPS Working Conditions Survey?
The FCPS Working Conditions Survey is a confidential, online survey that will ask questions about teaching and learning conditions within your school building. It is sponsored by FCPS and employee associations. An advisory committee with representatives from the FCPS education community reviewed the core survey provided by the New Teacher Center and provided input for tailoring questions to meet FCPS needs. Given that the dedicated professionals working in FCPS schools are the individuals who best understand learning and teaching conditions, all school-based licensed educators are being asked to take the survey.
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Is this survey a part of the Principal Evaluation?
No, it is not related to the Principal Evaluation. Working conditions are about schools, not about individuals. No questions on this survey are about the principal. There are questions about school leadership, which is defined specifically as an individual, group of individuals, or team within the school.
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What about Instructional Assistants, why are they not being included?
Instructional Assistants are valued members of school instructional teams and it was the intent to include them in the second iteration of the survey. Unfortunately, the cost to include them for the 2010 survey was more than this year's budget would allow.
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Why should I take the survey?
Research demonstrates that school working conditions - time, teacher empowerment, school leadership, professional development, and facilities and resources - are critical to increasing student achievement and retaining teachers. This survey will provide you, your school and FCPS with information about the status of working conditions in your school. Your opinions matter. This survey will help put your experiences and perceptions at the center of school and district efforts to better recruit and retain quality teachers. This data is critical as:

• School conditions matter for kids. The presence of critical teaching and learning conditions have been tied to improved student achievement.
• School conditions matter for retaining teachers.
• Not everyone in the school may have the same perceptions. Gathering this data school by school can be eye-opening for a faculty. Your response to the survey will provide important information for your faculty to assess, celebrate, and improve.

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I'm busy. What do I have to do to take the survey?
Participants were able to take the survey from any computer with Internet access between the dates of January 11 through January 29, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All survey participants were given a letter at their school with an access code. The survey took approximately 20 minutes to complete and is completely confidential.
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Is the survey really anonymous?
Yes, your responses are completely anonymous to FCPS! Only researchers at the New Teacher Center will have access to these surveys. No reports will include information that could identify an individual teacher and no one at FCPS will be able to view individual survey results. The code you will be given to access the survey ensures that educators only fill out the survey once and identify the school in which you work. It has NOT been assigned to you as an educator, does NOT identify you by any piece of personal information, and we will NOT know who you are.
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What areas does the survey address?
The survey addresses working conditions in these areas: overall conditions, time, leadership, decision making, facilities and resources, professional development, student conduct, and community support. Research indicates that these conditions are closely related to difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers and related to student achievement.
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How will the results be used?
A school level report will be provided to your school to provide data to facilitate discussions about the conditions in your school and guide school improvement planning. Training and support for schools on how to interpret their school reports and on how to use the data as a tool for school improvement will be provided. A comprehensive district level report on the survey data, showing correlations between working conditions and student achievement as well as teacher retention will be compiled by the New Teacher Center. This valuable data from educators will allow for policymakers to make better decisions and effectively address the unique concerns of teachers across the district.
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Why are there two versions of the survey?
Leadership is important to school improvement. Building principals will be surveyed about their working conditions in addition to teachers. The leadership survey is also anonymous. Survey reports will be prepared at the division level only.
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What if I lose my access code to the survey?
The help desk was available January 11 through January 29 to assist survey participants that lost their access code for the survey.
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What if someone didn't get a code?
The help desk provided a code to any person who did not receive a letter. The help desk was available from January 11 through January 29.
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What if I work in more than one school?
If you work in more than one school, you received one access code for the school where you spend the most time. If you wished to take the survey to for an additional work location, the help desk was available during the survey to request an additional access code.
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How is this survey being paid for?
The cost for the survey is being split between FCPS and a grant from NEA (Nation Education Association). Thanks to the support of the New Teacher Center, we have been able to significantly reduce the total cost by streamlining some of the reports and analyses.
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Who is the New Teacher Center?
The New Teacher Center (NTC) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all students have access to high-quality teaching. NTC is a nonpartisan group with a mission to support the development of an effective, dedicated and inspired teaching force. NTC has vast experience conducting similar surveys across the country.
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Who else has taken the survey?
The Teaching & Learning Conditions Survey began in 2002 and has now been replicated across the nation. In just 2008-2009 over 300,000 educators were surveyed in the states of Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and West Virginia. These surveys, conducted under the leadership of Eric Hirsch of the New Teacher Center, have measured such teaching and learning conditions as time, professional development, leadership, empowerment, and facilities and resources - all of which have an impact on student learning conditions and teacher retention.
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Who can I call if I need help?
The help desk was available via phone and email from January 11 through January 29.
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