Is the election getting to students and educators?
How do they feel about the upcoming election?
What is their biggest stressor right now?
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NEW! PDK Rapid Response Survey: Is the 2020 U.S. Election Stressing Out Our Students and Teachers?
The heart of the first semester of the school year can be one of the most stressful times for students in the best of years. With the added stressors of a divisive U.S. election and COVID-19, we wondered about the effects of stress on the social and emotional needs of our students and current educators.
We spot polled our Educators Rising students from October 21-25, 2020 about their stress levels around the election, their biggest overall stressors right now, and what they’re doing to relieve stress. After the election, we will be sending out a second follow-up poll. We’ll then reveal the full survey results, along with corresponding educator data, in our next PDK Survey Brief.
We are pleased to share a sneak preview of the results! Read what we discovered in: Rapid Response Survey: Is the 2020 Election Stressing Out Our Students and Teachers?.
Since March, PDK has been measuring the social and emotional concerns students, teachers, and administrators have related to the coronavirus crisis as well as their expectations for school this unique school year. These results can help the education community understand their needs and respond to their concerns as they develop programs and policies for this school year and beyond.
Click the button below to subscribe to our “Survey Briefs” to receive the current and previous survey briefs. Once you sign up using the contact form, you will receive:
(1) What students want and need during this crisis
(2) Comparing student voices with adult perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic
(3) Biggest student stressors and the educator response
(4) Voices in the field: What educators and students are looking for as the school year ends
(5) Students and teachers share hopes and fears for the new school year
(6) Rapid Response Survey: Patriotic Education
(7) NEW! Rapid Response Survey: Is the 2020 U.S. Election Stressing Out Our Students and Teachers?
To ensure you receive our survey briefs, please add memberservices@pdkintl.org to your address book.
Some interesting highlights:
74% of students report feeling somewhat to overwhelming amounts of stress for the election with 40% expressing a lot to overwhelming amounts. For adult educators the results were higher at 80% and 60%.
While the election stresses adults more, students seem more invested in the outcome with 54% of students are concerned that their chosen candidate will not win vs. 44% for adults.
When asked what is the thing that MOST stresses students, 44% said it was school and classes with 18% indicating the election and 17% indicating COVID. For adults, the election was the top stressors for 34% of respondents.
Here is a sample of what we have learned so far…
“I’m just tired of all the conflict and division. I wish people weren’t so aggressive and stubborn about their political views. I’m not saying we should all just agree on everything or keep out mouths shut, but we need to learn to disagree and still be respectful. Hating people who disagree isn’t solving problems.”
– A 12th Grade Educators Rising Student Survey Respondent from Texas, October 2020
NEW! Educators Rising Rapid Response Team
With all the changes to education taking place this school year, we need your voice more than ever. To make student voices heard on a national scale, we are excited to announce the new Educators Rising Rapid Response Team.
Superintendent and Principal Corner
In addition to building understanding of the public voice in education through the PDK poll and sharing the research and ideas of education experts in our renowned Kappan magazine, PDK works with schools, districts, and states to close the teacher diversity gap with grow your own programs, provides insight into how schools can improve with curriculum audits, and offers professional development through its memberships. Here’s how we can help you:
- Educators Rising Academy Curriculum: Research shows that teacher diversity can help close student achievement gaps, and Educators Rising support districts seeking to increase diversity in their local teacher workforce. Through a standards-based curriculum, thoughtful discussion, and practical experiences, the diverse community of rising educators commit themselves to grow into educators focused on excellence, results, engagement, and social justice.
- Educators Rising CTSO Chapters: Aspiring teachers frequently accept positions within 20 miles of their own hometowns. By tapping into the passion of your own students, you can grow your own pool of teachers who look like your community.
- The Educators Rising Micro-credentials allow rising educators to learn new content and assess their skills from home.
- Kappan continues to be the leading resource for educators who want to understand how to bridge research, policy, and practice. The print magazine publishes eight times a year, and kappanonline.org features everything from the print magazine and more.
- On-site and Off-site Curriculum Audits: The PDK-CMSi curriculum audit is an ideal option for continuing your work during the COVID-19 crisis. Available on-site or virtually, the audit is a comprehensive analysis of the design, quality, and alignment of essential written curriculum documents and curriculum-based assessments in K-12 math, science, social studies, and English language arts. The audit outlines critical findings and recommends next steps.
- Equity Audit: The PDK-CMSi equity audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a school district’s policies, systems, and processes for monitoring and ensuring equity in its treatment of and services to all students. Our equity audit provides a detailed plan of action with recommended steps to establish goals and processes to ensure equitable outcomes for your students.
- Curriculum Auditor Training: In addition to having an audit done, you or your staff members can receive training to become auditors.
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Media inquiries contact CEO@PDKIntl.org
