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Pitfalls and Precautions is a series that aims to educate teachers on professional conduct issues by highlighting situations addressed by the ATA Professional Conduct Committee.
We all see those surveys in our mailboxes throughout the school year; some get thrown in the recycle file while others are answered and returned. If you spot a survey from your school division, be careful how you answer or if you answer at all. The questions and your answers may be deemed to be acting contrary to the Code of Professional Conduct.
Any question in a survey that asks for your opinion of a colleague or colleague with an administrative designation could put you at risk, depending how you answer it. If, in answering the survey question, you are at all critical of your colleague without speaking to them first, this may be considered as unprofessional conduct by a hearing committee. The code states the following in relation to colleagues:
13 The teacher criticizes the professional competence or professional reputation of another teacher only in confidence to proper officials and after the other teacher has been informed of the criticism, subject only to section 24 of the Teaching Profession Act.
14 The teacher, when making a report on the professional performance of another teacher, does so in good faith and, prior to submitting the report, provides the teacher with a copy of the report, subject only to section 24 of the Teaching Profession Act.
This would also apply to answering surveys regarding your central office leaders, as most of them hold teaching certificates and are defined as teachers in the Teaching Profession Act. Further, being critical of central office staff in a survey could also put your employment at risk with a minimum consequence being a letter of reprimand.
Remember, if you have concerns or criticisms with regard to a colleague, you need to share them with that colleague first before going to the proper authorities.
If you have received a survey form your employer or you principal, be sure to contact Teacher Employment Services before checking off any boxes or making any comments. ❚
