Project Tomorrow, one of the nation’s leading education nonprofits, recognizes 20 years of educator, administrator, student and family survey input at the “Speak Up For America’s Teachers” webinar event on Wednesday, May 10. Taking place during Teacher Appreciation Week, school district leaders and participants of Project Tomorrow’s annual Speak Up Research Project will explore essential and urgent needs of educators in a conversation moderated by Dr. Julie Evans, CEO and Lead Researcher of Project Tomorrow.
The issues impacting educators are complex and wide ranging-and not limited to talent shortages driven by low compensation. A recent survey from Merrimack College found that just 12 percent of teachers reported being “very satisfied” with their jobs and 44 percent reported they are “very” or “fairly likely” to leave the education profession in the next two years. Project Tomorrow addresses root-cause satisfaction issues by sourcing authentic feedback from educators to better understand how to improve educators’ experiences in the profession.
The Speak Up Research Project is the largest collection of stakeholder voices on key educational issues, including as the role of technology. Since 2003, the annual survey has captured the views and ideas of more than 6.2 million participants.
“Each year, our Speak Up Research Project shines a light on the most important issues at the forefront of educators’ minds,” said Dr. Julie Evans, CEO and Lead Researcher of Project Tomorrow. “Teachers, this is your time to have your voices heard. School and district leaders, we also urge you to use Speak Up to empower your teachers to speak up collectively. Let’s work together to create actionable pathways toward improving the satisfaction and experiences of educators in the profession.”
Open until Saturday, May 13, the 2023 Speak Up survey provides an avenue for administrators, teachers, families and students to share how teaching and learning can be more effective.
The Speak Up Research Project is a year-long process and involves consulting with education thought leaders, policy researchers, state education agency professionals, nonprofit and association leaders, administrators, teachers, families and students. The Speak Up results are presented to national policy makers and participating districts receive the data from their surveys.
