McGinley praised in teacher survey

Some Charleston County teachers say Superintendent Nancy McGinley is doing a far better job of leading the school district than her predecessor, according to survey results released this week.

Seventy-three percent of the 817 Charleston Teacher Alliance members surveyed believe McGinley is an effective leader, compared to just 48 percent who said the same about former Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, according to the teacher advocacy group's report. The district employs about 3,500 teachers.

McGinley outscored Goodloe-Johnson on every issue, including her visibility and accessibility to teachers, her communication with teachers and whether she seeks their input. This is the first time the alliance has done this survey on the district's administrative leadership since Goodloe-Johnson left the district in June 2007. McGinley has been superintendent since then.

Kent Riddle, chairman of the alliance and a kindergarten teacher at Angel Oak Elementary School, said McGinley's approval rating is significant, especially because it comes at a difficult budget time when teachers have been furloughed and school resources have been cut.

McGinley has done more to reach out to teachers and let them know what's happening, and it's important to teachers to feel as if they're being treated as professionals, he said. She likely could have even higher scores if she did more to explain the way teacher input affected her decision-making, Riddle said.

The superintendent has received mostly positive reviews thus far. She scored an 83.1 percent on her first evaluation by the school board this fall, the equivalent of "exceeds standards."

McGinley said teachers' perception of her leadership reinforces her belief that her motto, "victory in the classroom," is the right one.

"I'm very, very encouraged by their feedback and enormously pleased," she said.

Not all areas of the district's leadership fared as well as the superintendent. Associate superintendents, the liaisons between principals and the superintendent, received worse marks from teachers this year, and their scores continue to be among the lowest for any leadership group. Thirty-four percent said their associate superintendent was an effective leader while 40 percent said they weren't sure.

It's important for teachers to know their associate superintendent because they are the next step in the chain-of-command system that teachers are supposed to use if they have a problem, Riddle said. But most teachers don't know the duties of this position and don't feel comfortable going to their associate superintendent with concerns, he said. The alliance has recommended repeatedly that associate superintendents do more to reach out to teachers.

McGinley was aware of the perception issue regarding associate superintendents who she said do a significant amount of behind-the-scenes work that teachers may not see. She agreed it would be valuable for associate superintendents to be more visible, and she said she planned to talk with them about that.

"We value the feedback of teachers, and we do listen to it," she said.

Principals received improved ratings for effectiveness, with 74 percent of teachers saying their school has an effective leader compared to 68 percent two years ago. Still, Riddle said areas of concern included the 29 percent of teachers who feared retaliation from the principal if they disagree on an issue or report a concern, and individual schools where less than 50 percent of teachers surveyed believe their school had a positive climate and working environment.

McGinley said it's been a deliberate strategy to make sure each school has the best principal possible, and she promised to look closer at schools with low-approval ratings for their leaders.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.