The Impact of COVID from School Administrators' Perspective

ALBANY, NY (03/10/2022) (readMedia)-- To gauge how the pandemic has affected both the profession of school administration and the school communities they lead, the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) conducted a recent survey of its membership that yielded 676 responses from around the state.

The survey focused specifically on school administrators, those responsible for providing a quality education to our students amid a myriad of current health concerns, social-emotional needs, and numerous rules and regulations constantly in flux. Of the 676 respondents, 75 percent hold the title of principal or assistant principal (507), with other titles including department directors, supervisors, and other supervisory staff.

Importantly, the survey also asks these professional educators their perspectives on how our students have been faring throughout the pandemic. The data, and the hundreds of open-response comments, is telling and is summarized in SAANYS' recent Special Report, "The Impact of COVID on School Administrators."

Survey highlights:

• 85 percent report that their traditional professional duties have been sidelined to fulfill COVID-related work.
• 28 percent believe that there has been significant learning loss across the general student population.
• 86 percent of respondents report an increase in student behavioral issues this year.
• 33 percent of respondents indicate that their retirement plans have been accelerated because of the pandemic.

Of particular interest was the open-ended question that asked, "What legislative or policy action (state or local) would be most supportive to you at this time?" As you will read, there was significant frustration with previous masking requirements and COVID protocols, but there were also numerous comments regarding student assessments and teacher and principal evaluations.

SAANYS' advocacy regarding this year's state assessments parallels many of the survey comments received, which spoke of the desire to see a repeat of last year's scaled-down approach to state testing. Said one respondent, "Remove assessments for students throughout the end of the year. There is much disruption to the learning process. We are holding them to the exact same standards and providing interrupted learning. Fewer teachers mean more subs, quarantines, and illnesses."

The "SAANYS Survey on the Impact of COVID on School Administrators" is available here along with additional summary data – https://bit.ly/3MzrZmD

SAANYS represents nearly 8,000 school administrators, supervisors, and coordinators throughout New York State. As a professional association, SAANYS provides direction, service and support to the membership in their efforts to improve the quality of education and leadership in New York State schools. SAANYS is affiliated with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).