New survey aims to capture Marion County teacher experience

An IPS school board member has created a new survey to capture what the teaching experience is like for all teachers in Marion County.

The survey — designed and led by Nicole Carey, an Indianapolis Public School board commissioner — aims to shed light on the issues facing all teachers today.

“I think it would be really powerful for the entirety of Marion County to align, from various different organizations that have lobbyists, that have legislative agendas, to align on one issue and are one voice,” Carey told IndyStar.  “But we have to understand the needs across the districts and across school types.”

Carey, who is CEO of the Indy Equity Collaborative, a research and strategy consulting firm, said she is conducting this survey independently and it is not connected to IPS or the IPS school board.

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The anonymous survey is designed to take around 5-10 minutes and is open to any educator whose time is mostly spent in the classroom providing or supporting learning. A deadline for taking the survey has not yet been set.

This survey focuses on teachers because they play an important role in student success and there is a shortage in the field both locally and nationally, Carey said.

As many school districts search for solutions, Carey said she believes answers need to be based on data from educators themselves.

“I think there's been lots of initiatives of how can we attract teachers, how can we retain teachers but I want the teachers' voice to be loud,” Carey said. “And then my hope is that every township, every (education) focused organization in the county, will be able to use this open-source data to serve their educators better.”

Carey and the Indy Equity Collaborative will produce a report on the survey findings.

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If this first survey is successful, Carey said she may do followup surveys focusing on families and the student experience.  

The goal is to have around 20% of all Marion County teachers respond, Carey said.

Any teacher in Marion County interested in taking the survey can go to: https://iu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RmG8eXr5hniXRk.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education. 

Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporter’s salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder.  

To learn more about how you can support IndyStar’s partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.