The Teaching, Learning and Leading Survey

As you may know, all teachers and administrators are being asked
to complete a survey of teaching, learning, and leadership conditions
in Massachusetts public schools. The Teaching, Learning and Leading Survey is sponsored by a coalition including Governor Patrick, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, every education association and various business and policy organizations.

The survey will focus on issues of time, empowerment, leadership,
professional development, and facilities and resources that affect the school climate and impact student learning. The Governor and policymakers want to hear from educators directly about these conditions; the data will be used to inform decisions from the state to local levels. More information is available here.

For the survey data to have an impact, it is essential to have a high
completion rate in each school, district and for the state. School results will not be reported unless 40% of the staff responds to the survey.

All responses are anonymous and confidential. To that end, the survey has been designed so that there is no link between individuals and their responses. The vendor conducting the survey does not have any information that identifies individual educators.

To learn more about the distribution of the survey, see the BTU webpage for instructions as to the who, what, when, where and hows of participation.

The Hub

The City of Boston has launched The Hub, a new web portal exclusively for City employees, including Boston Public Schools staff. Beginning today, you will have access to this new site, which provides valuable, timely news and information to employees. Best of all, many of the transactions that you once had to complete on paper or in person can now be processed on-line through the “self-service” features of The Hub – even from the comfort of your own home, 7 days a week, 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.

With self-service technology, you can now do the following on-line, with no processing delays:
• Update your home address, emergency contact information, and federal tax withholdings;
• View past and current pay stubs, as well as health benefits information;
• Confirm or report changes to your professional licensure, languages, and educational degrees;
• Enroll or change payroll direct deposit;
• and much more.