Why This Matters
In the past year, the New York City Department of Education has experienced a significant leadership change. Newly elected Mayor Eric Adams appointed David Banks, a lifelong New Yorker, school leader, and deep believer in parent engagement, to the top leadership position at the start of the new year. Banks quickly announced that all 45 New York City superintendents would need to reapply for their jobs, and in June, he replaced a third of them And through the spring, Michael Mulgrew, who has led the United Federation of Teachers since 2009, faced the toughest reelection bid of his career; he won with only 66 percent of the vote, compared with 86 percent in 2019. These new leaders now face the double crisis of declining enrollment— the district has lost nearly 10 percent of its students since before the pandemic — and a looming fiscal cliff as pandemic relief funding expires.
During this pivotal school year, we surveyed 110 New York City educators, in addition to a national sample of 1,000 teachers, to understand how they are feeling in this moment and what they and their students need to be successful this year and in years to come. We ask New York City’s leaders, old and new, to listen.
We are incredibly grateful to the New York City educators who generously devoted their time to share insights from their classrooms. Their experiences and perspectives illustrate the challenges and opportunities that New York City’s schools face today. We encourage education decision-makers to listen to the voices of New York City’s teachers and take action.
The Voices from the Classroom 2022 survey questionnaire was developed by 15 Educators for Excellence teacher members from across the United States. The instrument was written and administered by Gotham Research Group, an independent research firm, and conducted online from January 11 through February 14, 2022, among a sample of 110 full-time public school teachers in New York City. Note that all survey results are presented as percentages and, due to rounding, may not always add up to 100 percent.
Major Trends and Findings
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Teachers need better resources and support in order to support the increasing needs of students.
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Teachers would like to see more mental health resources for students, including more school counselors and training opportunities for teachers.
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Teachers in New York City overwhelmingly would like to see more culturally relevant curricula.
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Teachers in New York City have mixed satisfaction about their union. They’d like to see their union do a better job of expanding the career ladder and advocating for the teaching profession.
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Educators say that federal funding should be used to improve outcomes for students, both in the classroom and at home.
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New York City educators have largely positive views about the assessments their students take, although they are split on whether they accurately measure students’ content mastery.
Share the Survey Results
Use the graphics below to share key findings from the survey with your social media networks.
National 2022 Teacher Survey
Voices from the Classroom 2022: A Survey of America’s Educators