What factor is the most significant variable in making a school a great place to work?

The results of this poll show something fairly significant. When you look at the top two responses they are the ones dealing with support from colleagues and administration. The answer that was listed third highest as being a significant variable in making a school a great place to work was having a student body that places great value on academic achievement. In other words, a student body that values education and learning and, we can assume supports teachers with their actions.

These three categories which all deal, basically, with support of some kind account for close to 90% of the votes in this poll. Parental involvement, financial resources and facility conditions ranked very low on the scale of important factors. This is not to say that these factors have no merit and in some schools they may even rank higher than they appeared on this poll.

When we talk about the education system the conversation usually revolves around funding or class size. These two topics dominate educational discussions to the point that almost everything else is forgotten. The idea seems to be that if we decrease class size and inject more money into the education system any and all problems will be solved. Yet, this poll result seems to indicate that there are other very important issues as well which are being swept under the rug.

Supportive colleagues are ones who have similar career beliefs and strive for the same goals and outcomes. Supportive administrators recognize the value of teachers and try to help them achieve their goals. Merge these two groups with students who are focussed on learning and achievement and you have a recipe for success.

Lack of job satisfaction can lead to stress and, in some cases, a career change. If we want to keep teachers happy then it is beneficial to realize that a salary increase is not the be all and end all. Being surrounded by like-minded individuals who work well together probably has more of an impact on job satisfaction that anything else. Perhaps this should be kept in mind whenever school districts look for a way to improve the system.