They are probably responsible for more defeated bond and levy voters than the most active antitax community groups,'' write Adam Kernan-Schloss and Andy Plattner in a recent article in Educational Leadership . Polls indicate that 88 percent of American parents consider their child's teacher their most credible source of information about education issues. Second in line are children, followed by other parents. School officials rank fourth and the media even farther behind. In a recent national poll, teachers were rated as the most trusted profession, coming even ahead of clergymen and substantially ahead in the media.
Teachers play a crucial role in public engagement because of the respected position they hold.
Ensure that teachers understand their valuable role as communicators. Begin by sharing with teachers information from surveys that indicate how valuable they are as communicators with parents. If possible, consider developing your own survey to buttress this point. Ensure that all teachers have opportunities to participate in decision making and to learn about reforms in which they have no decision-making role. Teachers who participate in decision making regarding curriculum changes are likely to become better spokespersons for such issues than teachers who are distant from the process.