This is the third piece in a Q&A series running each week up to the election to give Warren’s two candidates for school committee (Kyle Jackson and Jarrod Hazard) a chance to answer a few pressing questions to help inform voters and provide insight into each candidate. Given there are only two candidates in this race, each was given a 250-word limit for answers.
Answers are direct quotes from candidates, with edits only for spelling or grammar.

This week’s question focuses on school morale, and how it might be improved. Recent data from the state’s annual “Survey Works” questionnaire has shown a nearly universal, district-wide decrease in the opinions of students (particularly at the 6-12 grade levels) regarding their school environment. Teachers, too, have shown in the data a decrease in various areas surveyed related to their satisfaction with the schools, such as the amount of input they feel they have. Those data can be viewed in full on the RIDE website.

The question:
"Recent data from the state's Survey Works questionnaire has shown a sharp decrease in school morale among both students and teachers, which is universal among grade levels and among the various schools. What factors do you think have contributed to this, and what ways, if any, could the school committee contribute towards increasing morale within our schools?"

Kyle Jackson
Responsibility and change starts at the top. We've experienced a lot of negativity resulting in leadership turnover and low morale. As I've said before, the school committee and administrators must model the respect and kindness we ask of our students; it's a two-way street. We have an opportunity before us with Ana Riley leading our district, and our committee can support our superintendent and school administrators even when conflict arises. The committee's role is to work with them to shape vision, policy, and culture and to provide the resources our teachers and students need.

The pandemic was brutal for everyone, and our teachers and students were asked to perform under the most challenging circumstances. We can't ignore this impact on morale. Now is the time to appreciate and support our teachers. Research shows that when teachers are included in decision-making and feel empowered and heard, they are more likely to positively impact student engagement and performance.

Students look to adults to set the tone. They, too, want to feel heard and valued. There's more emphasis today on high-stakes testing, more tasks, and less time for rest and care. They need our support more than ever. Our strategic plan offers a road map to set high standards and create an inclusive and thriving district where all BWRSD students know that we believe in them and their potential. If we set high standards and lead with positivity, our students, teachers, staff, families, and community members will all benefit.

Jarrod Hazard
There are probably several reasons that contribute to the decrease in school morale among the students and teachers. If the morale of the teachers is decreasing, students will pick up on that and the general malaise will spread.

One way to increase the morale of the teachers is to empower them more within the curriculum that they are instructing the students. No teacher decided to go into teaching to have the lesson plans and, in some cases, the methods dictated to them. In many cases the curriculum and more precisely the topics and lesson plan sequence is dictated by the curriculum adopted. There are cases when an individual teacher may want to teach a topic that they feel should be taught to use throughout the school year. However, they are instructed to withhold the topic until a later point. Teachers know what topics are of great importance in their subjects and should be given the latitude to present topics that they deem important. As a member of the school committee I would look at empowering the teachers to have more input into the way that the topics are presented to the students.