Stephanie Winkler, president of the Kentucky Education Association, draws the final TELL Survey winner with Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt. Nearly 91 percent of educators completed the working conditions survey this year. Photo by Bobby Ellis, April 3, 2017

Stephanie Winkler, president of the Kentucky Education Association, draws the final TELL Survey winner with Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt. Nearly 91 percent of educators completed the working conditions survey this year.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, April 3, 2017

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Kentucky educators have set a new record with their response to the 2017 Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Kentucky survey.

More than 41,400 – nearly 91 percent – of school-based certified educators completed it, surpassing the 2015 response rate of 89.3 percent and setting a new national record among states that administer the working conditions survey.

The TELL Kentucky Survey is designed to gather a variety of information from teachers, counselors, principals and other administrators who know best the working conditions of their schools. The survey includes questions on the adequacy of facilities and resources; time; empowerment; school leadership; community support; student conduct; professional development; mentoring and induction services; and student learning. The half-hour, web-based survey is voluntary, anonymous and confidential. This is the fourth time educators in Kentucky have taken the survey since 2011.

As an incentive for educators to participate in the TELL Kentucky Survey, the Kentucky Education Association, Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, Kentucky Association of School Administrators, the Center for Education Leadership, Jefferson County Teachers Association and the Kentucky School Boards Association contributed prize money for weekly drawings to be held throughout the survey period. No public money was used for the prizes.

School winners received $500 and were drawn from schools that had at least a 50 percent response rate. Schools that reached a 100 percent response rate were entered into a drawing for a $500 cash award that went to an individual educator at the school.

Below is a list of winners from each week of the survey:

  • Week 1 educator: Amy Bolar, Flemingsburg Elementary School (Fleming County)
  • Week 1 school: Roby Elementary School (Bullitt County)
  • Week 2 educator: Jaymie Ross, Jennie Rogers Elementary (Danville Independent)
  • Week 2 school: Breathitt County Area Technology Center
  • Week 3 educator: Carissa Poston, Butler County High School (Butler County)
  • Week 3 schools: Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Center (Bowling Green Independent)
  • Week 4 educator: April McNaughton, Franklin Elementary School (Simpson County)
  • Week 4 school: Somerset High School (Somerset Independent)                                           

The overall school winner was Wilmore Elementary School in Jessamine County, and the overall educator winner was Melissa Scott, who teaches at The Stables in Fayette County.

All 173 school districts in the state exceeded the 50 percent threshold for reporting; 51 districts had 100 percent participation. School and district response rates are posted on the TELL Kentucky website.

It is anticipated the initial results will be released to schools and districts next month. Educators, shareholders and policymakers will use the survey results to make evidence-based decisions on policies and practices that will improve student achievement and increase teacher retention.