All Results from Survey 2

Report Card Prototype 1

1. I like the Report Card Prototype and would agree to use it as a pre-assessment the first week of kindergarten, at the mid-point of each trimester as a Progress Report, and at the end of each trimester for the Report Card.

92 Agree
6 Disagree
1 No Answer

3 teachers expressed a desire to keep DIBELS. 1 teacher expressed a desire to keep the IDMS.

2. I believe that the above assessment schedule as outlined in #1 will provide enough data regarding student growth and achievement that kindergarten will no longer need to give the IDMS or DIBELS.

3. This Report Card Prototype quantifies important data regarding student growth and achievement and successfully wraps the IDMS, DIBELS, a beginning of the year assessment, progress reports, and report cards into one reusable format.

4. Following the assessment schedule outlined above would substantially reduce the number of instructional days I lose to mandatory assessment.

95 Agree
4 Disagree

5. Select the numbers of days you lost during the 07-08 school year to mandatory assessments.

16 teachers lost 11-20 days
22 teachers lost 21-30 days
34 teachers lost 31-40 days
13 teachers lost 41-50 days
8 teachers lost 51-60 days
4 teachers lost more than 60 days
2 teachers did not answer

6. This year, with the new report card and other assessments, I will probably lose more or less days than last year.

86 More
12 Less
1 No Answer

7. Dibels is not a valid assessment tool, because it does not assess the letters and sounds in the same order as the reading series that I am required to use.

8. Dibels is time consuming and does not produce any written document for parents that tells them which letters and sounds their child needs help with. It also does not assess the letters and sounds in the same order that my reading series presents them in; therefore I am assessing students on letters and sounds that I haven't even taught. And, in addition to class time lost to Dibels, I am still making my own personalized progress reports that tell the parent exactly which letters, sounds, and sight words their child needs to work on.

88 Agree
10 Disagree
1 No Answer

9. It would help me if the departments that write the IDMS, the report card, and area superintendents would communicate regarding all of the assessments required for kindergarten and make a team effort to reduce the number of instructional days lost to assessment.

Developmentally Appropriate Standards

10. I believe in a standards based curriculum for kindergarten.

11. I believe that some of the current Nevada and CCSD standards are not developmentally appropriate for kindergarten.

12. I believe that the main focus of kindergarten should be social skills, oral language, and learning the letters and sounds. Kindergartners should NOT be required to read to be promoted to first grade.

13. I am required to teach all children to read in kindergarten at my school.

14. Kindergartners must be reading at a level ______ to be promoted to first grade at my school.

15. Kindergartners should be reading at a level _________ to be promoted to first grade.

5 teachers feel kindergartners should be reading at a level 2 to be promoted to first grade.
7 teachers feel kindergartners should be reading at a level 3 to be promoted to first grade.
0 teachers feel kindergartners should be reading at a level 4 to be promoted to first grade.
85 teachers believe kindergarten should concentrate on the letters and sounds. Students should be required to know all the letters and sounds and segment and blend CVC words to be promoted to first grade.
2 teachers did not answer.

16. My school requires that children know ________ sight words to be promoted to first grade

18 teachers- 10-20
22 teachers- 20-30
6 teachers- 30-40
4 teachers- 40-50
0 teachers- 50-60
2 teachers- 60 or above
47 teachers- My school does not require kindergartners to learn any sight words.

17. I feel that kindergartners should be required to know ________ sight words to be promoted to first grade.

18. I am concerned that the current kindergarten curriculum is so developmentally inappropriate that we are ruining the self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning in some children.

19. When I do reading groups, I am concerned about the excessive amount of time my kindergartners spend on seatwork.

20. Kindergarten needs to have more focus on oral language development so that when children are in the 2nd and 3rd grades, they will have the vocabulary and comprehension skills to be grade level readers and writers.

21. I am familiar with brain-based research that shows that kindergarten is a peak time for a child to develop social skills such as empathy and am concerned that if we take out too much play and oral language, we are not laying a foundation that will produce caring, globally-oriented citizens.

22. In the past, the curriculum standards reflected a more average level of achievement to be promoted to the next grade. Therefore, the curriculum was developmentally appropriate for a majority of students.

23. The current curriculum standards reflect levels of achievement generally obtainable by high-ability students. Therefore, teachers are being forced to teach a curriculum that IS NOT developmentally appropriate for MOST students.

24. Due to a developmentally inappropriate curriculum, we are leaving more students behind than ever.

25. Due to a developmentally inappropriate curriculum, a larger number of "average" students are being labeled as "struggling" or "failing," when the reality is that the curriculum is the problem, not the children.

Concerns About the new Envision Series

26. I am concerned that the new Envision Math series is not going to be an effective program for kindergarten.

86 True
8 False
5 No Answer

27. Fill in the comment box as follows: Any kindergarten Math programs you have used in the past that you think would be more effective than Envision.
12 - Investigations
9-Saxon
9-Kathy Richardson
1-Count on Math by Pam Schiller
1-Math Their Way
1-TouchMath
4-Scott Foresman
2-Harcourt
1-Math Advantage
1-Marilyn Burns
1-Bridges
1-Singapore Math

Reading Series

29. I like the current reading series at my school.

*This question was not programmed correctly; a text box was inserted instead of a bullet list.

30. I am required to implement ____ literacy programs at my school. (Trophies, 100 Book Challenge, Breakthrough to Literacy, Handwriting without Tears, Voyager, Waterford Early Reading, Reading A to Z, Reading First, Write from the Beginning leveled books.)

56 teachers- 1
30 teachers- 2
9 teachers- 3
3 teachers- 4 or more Literacy Programs
1 teacher- no Reading Series. Guided reading with leveled books only.

31. Instead of buying more literacy programs, I feel kindergarten should have one main literacy program and use the rest of the money to buy the supporting materials that correspond with the main program such as phonics books.

32. I feel CCSD overspends on materials while class size is too large

33. I believe Title One money should be used to lower class size by helping to pay for teachers and that the guidelines for spending Title One money are too strict.

34. Several times, new literacy programs have been bought for kindergarten when I was not supplied with basic materials to teach the main literacy program, such as phonics books.

82 True
16 False
1 did not answer

35. I spend an extraordinary amount of time copying materials because the school buys new programs instead of asking me what I need.

36. I spend my own money on copy paper.

37. CCSD does not need to purchase a separate writing program for kindergarten because there is a writing component to every reading series.

Science

38. I love the FOSS kits and use everything in them.

10 Agree
88 Disagree
1 did not answer

39. I do not like the FOSS kits because

7- a lot of the exercises are not developmentally appropriate.
13- it is too time consuming to count all the objects in the kit before and after use.
8 the program is not effective enough to warrant all that extra money spent on shipping and delivery.
59- all of the above.
7- I love the FOSS kits.
2- No Answer
3-Do not use

40. I would like for CCSD to consider the following kindergarten Science series for adoption:
1 teacher suggested Delta.

41. I would like for kindergarten teachers to vote and develop a list of monthly themes for Science and Social Studies. Instead of a Science or Social Studies series, kindergarten teachers will be given a gift card to purchase supplies to teach the themes.

42. I feel that teachers are being micro-managed and would like more freedom to teach creatively in my classroom.

88 Agree
10 Disagree
1 No Answer

43. I like the Science and Social Studies ideas from teacher created materials like "The Mailbox."

Supplies, Materials, Effective Use of Space

44. I have received materials for my kindergarten class that are not developmentally appropriate such as college level dictionaries.

45. It would help me spend less of my personal money if the school, Title One, and CCSD were required to survey teachers regarding their needs before they purchased things.

46. I am required to implement too many programs in kindergarten and feel that this money could be better used to reduce class size.

47. I work in, or have at least seen, a newer school with a big kindergarten pod and feel while that this space is nice, I would rather see the space turned into an extra classroom to reduce class size in kindergarten.

48. I work in, or have at least seen a newer school with a bathroom in the kindergarten classrooms and feel that if I urinal was installed next to the toilet, the bathroom would be a lot cleaner. I also feel that there is enough space in the bathrooms for a urinal and a toilet.
Also, a sink should not be installed inside the bathroom. It is more time-efficient to have students use the bathroom and come out to use the classroom sink to wash their hands.

49. I work in, or have at least seen a newer school with a bathroom in the kindergarten classrooms and feel that a community bathroom in or near the kindergarten pod would be time-efficient for large groups to use especially after lunch and before specials when entire classes have to use the restroom at the same time.

84 True
14 False
1 did not answer

50. I feel that when a new school is built, taxpayers should have to pay for everything to be new, rice tables, play kitchens, bookcases, desks, storage cabinets; whether the items need to be replaced or not.

51. I feel the school district would make better use of taxpayer money, if teachers were given a checklist and got to choose which items (including furniture) they thought were still usable in a new school and they were simply moved into the new building.

Legislative Questions

52. If a state legislator requests a bill draft to have a state lottery to help fund public education, I would ..

86 support it.
10 be opposed to it.
3 did not answer

53. I feel that if a state lottery is implemented to help fund public education, kindergarten teachers should organize and work to make class size reduction in kindergarten the first priority of the lottery.

96 Agree
3 Disagree

54. I am willing to do research that shows the positive outcomes of class size reduction in kindergarten, such as teacher retention and student achievement, and present my findings at the legislative session.

55. I am not willing to do research, but am willing to send emails or drive to the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas during the legislative session to sign-in as "in favor" of a state lottery and class size reduction in kindergarten.

69 Yes
22 No
8 No Answer

56. Some state legislators researched the effects of class size reduction and said they could not find any; instead they considered paying kindergarten teachers a "per child" subsidy. Which is most important to you:

85 Receiving a "per child" subsidy, but still having large classes in kinder.
11 Reducing class size in kinder to 18 to 20.
3 No answer

57. Gift cards for kindergarten, fourth and fifth grade teachers should be double the amount that is given to first and second grade because we have twice as many students.

58. I believe in merit pay for teachers.

35 Yes
60 No
4 did not answer

59. If a classroom is not available at my school, I feel this way about teaching in a portable:

47 Portables are not so bad. The air conditioning and heat work on the weekends and they are usually very clean. They are a reasonable solution to over crowded schools.
49 I hate portables and do not want to teach in one.
3 did not answer

60. I believe all children should attend full day kindergarten.

58 Agree
38 Disagree
3 did not answer

61. I believe half-day kindergarten is effective for some children.

14 Agree
82 Disagree
3 did not answer

62. I do not believe that full day kindergarten is necessary for any child.

47 Agree
47 Disagree
5 did not answer

63. I believe that children should be tested and put into either full day kinder or half day kinder according to their individual needs.

60 Agree
37 Disagree
2 did not answer

64. I believe half and full day kindergarten will be more effective with lower class size.

Staff Development Days

65. I would like time to work in my room on staff development days.

66. Some school districts have a teacher planning day before the report card goes home and teachers are allowed to work in their rooms all day on report cards. I would like for CCSD to do this.

67. I feel increasingly "micro-managed" and would like for CCSD to concentrate on giving teachers more time to teach and plan vs. mandatory teacher training and assessments.

68. On the three teacher planning days before school starts, I am required to spend all or most of the three days in mandatory trainings and have no time to set up my room for the school year. I believe that teachers should be allowed to work in their rooms for the full three days before school starts.