Employee Perceptions:
Climate Report for the Easton
Area School District
Easton, PA 18040

Submitted by Angelo R. Senese, Ed.D.
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 January 11, 2019

Table of Contents
Topic

Page

Introduction

3

Survey Results by Category

4-7

Suggestions

7-12

Introduction
The Easton Area School Board sought employee input regarding their perceptions about working
conditions in the Easton Area School District. As stated to the employees, “It is the intention of the

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 Board to gain insight into the perspectives and attitudes of the district's employees regarding school and
district climate.” The Board acquired the services of Dr. Angelo R. Senese to conduct the survey and
process the results. Dr. Senese met with a sub-committee of the Board to develop the survey
statements to which employees could share their perceptions. The Board approved the final version of
the survey and all full-time employees gained access during the second week of August.
The survey was designed to solicit employees confidential input about the Easton Area School District
climate, communication channels, and day-to-day working environment. The survey was made
available to all employees in every category of employment. By mutual agreement, the superintendent,
assistant superintendent, and chief financial officer were not participants in the survey. The survey
instrument contained eight key areas of interest on which the Board wanted employee feedback.
Specifically, the Board sought perceptions about communication, employee engagement, beliefs about
change, employee sensitivity about being part of a team sharing mutual respect, the district focus on
planning including, but not limited to vision, mission, and beliefs, district improvement, working
environment, and district governance. Provisions were made for employees to provide narrative
comments.
The Board wanted to be certain that the employees responses were confidential and no one would be
able to see any individual electronic responses. The precautions taken against anyone being able to
identify any individual, included but not limited to:
1. The survey was not distributed via the Easton Area School District. It was distributed to employees
through the consultant's technology. The platform was set-up to not report any identifiable information.
2. Any employee requesting to complete the survey via a hard copy was given one. The employee
sealed the responses and the hard copy was mailed to the consultant. 3. The consultant was not able to
identify any employee response.
After meetings with the sub-committee and then Board as a whole, the following understanding about
climate was determined.
What is School climate?
While there are many definitions, this one from an article written by Steve Gruenert an assistant
professor in the department of educational administration at Indiana State University at the time of this
publication seems to capture and simplify the concept.
“School climate is a term that has been used for many decades. Its early use denoted the ethos, or
spirit, of an organization. More recently, school climate is thought to represent the attitude of an
organization. The collective mood, or morale, of a group of people has become a topic of concern,
especially in our new age of accountability.” (School Culture/School Climate: They are not the same
thing. NAESP 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2018
https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/resources/2/Principal/2008/M-Ap56.pdf)
Climate surveys are snapshots in time attempting to capture perceptions and attitudes of, in this case,
the Easton Area School District employees. The time of the year that the survey is given could
influence results. For example, the beginning of the school year may have emotions of excitement and
renewal while the end of the school year could be an exhausting and stressful time preparing for exams,
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 promotions, graduation, and reporting. Understanding the ebb and flow of the school year should be
considered when seeking employee input for strategic initiatives. Additionally, events could trigger
emotions and influence attitudes. When employees are experiencing the process of their evaluations, or
if certain employee groups are involved in collective bargaining, there is a possibility of influencing
responses. Grievances or perceptions of negative events could influence the results. At the time of this
survey, the Easton Area School District was dealing with an event surrounding the wrestling program
and the subsequent report by the law firm of Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt, and Cappelli whose offices
are located in Phillipsburg, NJ.
While this survey focused on employee perceptions, subsequent surveys will be suggested later in the
report to counterbalance time of year, ebb and flow of emotions and attitudes, and areas that remain
important for further exploration. Regardless of the variables that may influence the results of an
organization's climate, the Easton Area School District's governing body choosing to capture the
collective attitudes and perceptions of the employees is a proactive step in planning for the future.
Participation
The consultants received the list of employee email addresses from the Easton Area School District.
The consultants uploaded the addresses into the survey platform, and survey invitations were sent to all
employees listed. Participation was voluntary. The total number (N) of employees contacted, the
number of employees who responded (NR), and the percent of employee participation (P) are listed
below.
N = total number of employees (1298)
NR = employee responses (619) including responses submitted in hard copy.
P = percent response (47.7%)
“Internal surveys will generally receive a 30-40% response rate (or more) on average, compared to an
average 10-15% response rate for external surveys.”
https://www.surveygizmo.com/resources/blog/survey-response-rates/ (retrieved on September 22,
2018)
Survey Results by Category
The consultant combined certain employee groups for this report because in some groups too few
employees responded. Even though great care has been taken for the confidentiality of all employees,
by combining certain employee groups, an added level of anonymity has be ensured. This report will
show results for all employees. No breakout of employee groups will be discussed. This precaution is
necessary to preserve the confidentiality of all employees and not to be able to single out any individual
or groups of individuals. For strategic planning, the consultant can provide group identity categories
for goal setting. For example, the non-faculty groups included building level administration, district
level administration (excluding the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and the chief financial
officer), transportation staff, custodial and maintenance staff, secretarial staff, paraprofessional staff,
and other employees not listed in any of the aforementioned categories. However, for this report, the
statistical analysis might expose those non-identity categories. There were 379 faculty and 240 nonfaculty employees or those who chose to not identify their employment category who participated.
Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole percent. Italics, bold face print and spacing are
used to allow for an easier reading of the report and do not indicate any level of importance to the
statements.

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 The results of the survey provided insight into the following employee perceptions. These results were
calculated based on the average responses of all employees combined.
A) Communication makes reference to employee perceptions about open, transparent transfer
of information and dialogue between administration and faculty and staff. On a daily
basis, school systems have thousands of communiques among faculty, administration,
parents, students, and the community.
Forty (40) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that
communication is positive.
Forty-three (43) percent tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Seventeen (17) percent neither agree or disagree.
B) Employee engagement addresses the interaction among administration, faculty, and staff as
it pertains to soliciting input, trust in what is said, and active participation in
organizational improvement toward goal achievement.
Twenty-four (24) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that there
is positive discourse.
Fifty-four (54) percent tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Twenty-two (22) percent neither disagree or agree.
C) Beliefs about change seeks to gain insight as to how employees embrace change and how
they think the leadership supports change. School organizations are not static entities.
They are extremely dynamic. The number of changes that occurs with large systems can
be daunting.
Perceptions about how the overall system supports change provides insight as to
how the employees may or may not embrace initiatives.
Nineteen (19) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that the overall
system supports change.
Fifty-four (54) percent tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Twenty-seven (27) percent neither disagree or agree.
D) Feeling appreciated centers on how employees believe they are valued by the
administration. They strive to be respected and treated fairly.
Sixty-six (66) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend
to agree that the administration values them.
Seventeen (17) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Seventeen (17) percent neither disagree or agree.
E) Continuing with the above theme about being valued, this section deals with employee
sensitivity about being part of a team sharing mutual respect which references the ideas about
how the administration encourages employees, how they trust each other, how employees are
treated fairly, do employees respect the administration, and do administrators have effective
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 interpersonal skills.
Employee perceptions show that 38% of all employees strongly agree or tend to
agree that respect, trust, teamwork, and administrator interpersonal skills
are inherent in the organization.
Thirty-seven (37) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Twenty-five (25) percent neither disagree or agree.
F) This section reinforces several earlier themes and introduces new ones. The district focus on
strategic planning including, but not limited to vision, mission, and beliefs, seeks perceptions
about how well employees know the goals of the organization, and are those goals connected to
objectives and meaningful assignments. It speaks to a climate of managing issues effectively. It
explores if leaders are open to suggestions, and do employees recognize the purpose for
continuous improvement through a strategic plan. Additionally, do employees feel the district
goals will make Easton Area School District better and that continuous improvement processes
come from positive changes.
In general, 46% of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that goals are
and translated into meaningful, strategic planning activities involving all staff.

known

Twenty-eight (28) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Twenty-six (26) percent neither disagree or agree.
G) Working environment focuses on employee perceptions about how their skills and
experiences are appreciated and that their environment is free from hostile behaviors and fear
from retaliation.
1. These results show that 65% percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to
agree that continuous improvement goals will make the EASD better and
that their supervisors appreciate and respect their skills.
Seventeen (17) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Twenty-one (21) percent neither disagree or agree.
2. Perceptions about retaliation against them shows that 21% of all employees
strongly agree or tend to agree that no negative actions will be taken if they
speak their mind.
Sixty-two (62) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Seventeen (17) percent neither disagree or agree.
3. Forty-seven (47) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that
they do not work in a hostile environment.
Thirty-one (31) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
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 Twenty-two (22) percent neither disagree or agree.
H) District governance refers to the employee perceived support by the district Board of
Education in providing appropriate resources needed to educate students. These results show
perceptions regarding how Board policies effectively support operations, and how responsive
the Board is to employee issues.
1. The overall perception shows that 47% percent of all employees strongly agree
or tend to agree that the Board supports the education of all students, and
provides appropriate resources. The employees believe that the Board
policies provide organizational direction and are consistently implemented.
Twenty (20) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Thirty-three (33) percent neither disagree or agree.
2. With regard to how amenable the Board is to employee concerns, 20% percent
of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that the Board is responsive.
Thirty-eight (38) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Forty-two (42) percent neither disagree or agree.
Suggestions for Next Steps
As previously stated, surveys are snapshots in time. A more complete impression of a system's
climate requires further discussion by the stakeholders in the Easton Area School District.
Multiple surveys during different points in time, over a longer time period will provide the
Board with additional data to determine how the climate is changing. Influencing and guiding
those changes require the establishment of baseline information necessary for a comparative
study. The results of this survey provide a baseline from which the Board can make decisions
about the progress toward the climate they want to see in the school system. Creating change is
a lengthy process involving all stakeholders. It requires systematic planning and accountability.
For areas of consideration to affect change, the consultant offers the suggestions below. By no
means are these suggestions the only possible way to address the results of the survey. Nor are
the consultant's interpretations an exhaustive review of the data. They are provided as a general
summary to give potential ideas about the perceived climate and the variety of ways to address
the survey results and strategic actions for consideration.
1. Initiate Strategic Processes
The results of this survey need to be further analyzed by the Board, administration, and
employees of the school system. Opinions and speculation about the results will vary. It is the
opinion of the consultant that it is those who work in the district who can provide the most
accurate interpretation and insight into the working conditions which they experience every day.
A starting point for those discussions may begin with the results of this survey.
The leadership should discuss the benefits of having an outside consultant who can facilitate the
strategic process. This independent facilitator should be one who can engage stakeholder
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 groups in recommending climate goals to the Board.
Increase Effective Communication and Engagement Strategies
The survey results seem to give direction that communication throughout the district is an issue
that needs to be addressed. While some groupings of employees feel that communication is
appropriate, other employee groups want more involvement. The survey results below give
credence to the idea that steps should be taken to improve communication throughout the
organization.
A) Communication makes reference to employee perceptions about open, transparent transfer
of information and dialogue between administration and faculty and staff. On a daily
basis, school systems have thousands of communiques among faculty, administration,
parents, students, and the community.
Forty (40) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that
communication is positive.
Forty-three (43) percent tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Seventeen (17) percent neither agree or disagree.
The two basic types of communication most prevalent in a school district are (1) transfer of
information where no additional dialogue is afforded. (2) The other general type of
communication establishes an open dialogue thus engaging the leadership and employees with
the opportunity to share thoughts and ideas on any given topic. The survey results indicate that
the latter would have a positive effect on climate. Both communication and employee
engagement have a synergy that impact climate.
Develop Specific Goals and Planning Procedures
Strategic planning serves many purposes, but the some of the most important considerations for
planning is that it establishes leadership and accountability. District goals should set a
foundation for a strategic approach to improve key elements identified by the employees of the
school system. A review of the strategic plan, the mission, vision, shared beliefs, and goals is a
place to start. Employees believe that goal setting is important and want to be part of the action
plans.
Simply put, strategic planning is about shared leadership. It allows the school community to
have an open dialogue about student achievement data, diversity, safety, school finance,
technology, professional development, and a host of other areas deemed important by the
stakeholders.
Ownership of the results of this survey and the district-wide analysis, along with subsequent
initiatives should come from those closest to the environment. Accountability begins with all
employees having a stake in the outsome of the organization's goals. Future surveys should
include a wider selection of school and community representatives; however, for the present
employee survey, it is their voices that need to be heard.
While there are many ways to proceed with an analysis, consideration should be given to
developing a steering committee of system-wide representatives to guide the process. So that
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 no voice goes without the opportunity to contribute, sub-committees for each building or
employee group can establish a line of communication for recommendations to be considered
by the steering committee. The use of a strategic planning process to accomplish this may serve
the district well.
Acknowledge the Perceptions of Employees About Being Appreciated and Design Ways to
Recognize Them
A key area for all is the desire to feel appreciated. Much can be determined by how employees
believe they are valued by the administration. They strive to be respected and treated fairly.
There are employee groups that believe that they are appreciated, especially at the building or
divisional level (seventy-three (73) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that
their building level administration values them). They also indicate that there may be areas to
improve. Seniority, transfers, and hiring decisions could be a starting point for these
discussions.
Additionally, all staff appreciate being treated professionally and attribute their perceptions by
the level of interpersonal skills of their supervisors. Employees generally cite the importance
of trust, continuity of engagement, and mutual respect, to name a few areas as being
important to contributing to a positive culture. The results of the survey seem to indicate
that these issues warrant serious and thoughtful discussion and clear goals to improve them.
With regard to senior leadership, there is a perception that they seem more isolated from the rest
of the district and not as engaging. In a district the size of Easton, it becomes challenging to
engage so many employees and others across the community. A perceived lack of engagement
could be contributing factors to improved levels of trust, respect, and appreciation of others.
Whether this is accurate or not is a worthy reflection and warrants deeper discussions with the
staff.
Employees want to feel appreciated. They want to have a feeling of mutual respect.
They
want to be engaged in decisions that affect them, the students, and their assigned work site.
Over 65% of the employees believe that continuous improvement goals, feeling appreciated,
and mutual respect will make the Easton Area School District better. Discussions
surrounding how to engage each other in a shared role is a worthy pursuit in improving climate.
Recognize the Challenges of Maintaining a Positive Working Environment and Establish
Procedures to Actively Engage Employees in Meeting Those Challenges
For this survey, working environment focuses on employee perceptions about how their skills
and experiences are appreciated and that their environment is free from hostile behaviors and
fear from retaliation. While over 65% of employees believe that continuous attention to district
goals will make Easton a better school district than it already is, there is a wide discrepancy in
perceptions about the working environment being able to support those goals. As stated in the
early discussion about climate surveys, many variables can influence employee perceptions. It
already has been mentioned that the “ebb and flow” of a school year or events can influence
perceptions. Several employee comments, supported by the report of the law firm of Florio,
Perrucci, Steinhardt, and Cappelli seem to suggest that hostile working conditions (consultant's
interpretation) contribute to the current climate in the district. At the time of this survey, the
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 Easton Area School District continues to deal with the aftermath of the event surrounding the
wrestling program.
Although the survey results provide additional data to this event, and other variables need to be
explored, the aftermath of the events surrounding the wrestling program leaves no doubt it has
had an impact on the climate in Easton. It is worth, in this discussion, to repeat the survey
results here.
Forty-seven (47) percent of all employees strongly agree or tend to agree that they do
not work in a hostile environment.
Thirty-one (31) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Twenty-two (22) percent neither disagree or agree.
Perceptions about retaliation against them shows that 21% of all employees strongly
agree or tend to agree that no negative actions will be taken if they speak their
mind.
Sixty-two (62) percent of all employees tend to disagree or strongly disagree.
Seventeen (17) percent neither disagree or agree.
Forty-seven percent of all employees believe they do not work in a hostile environment, yet
only twenty-one percent believe that no negative actions will be taken if they speak their mind.
One might expect that the two percentages should be more closely aligned. However, the data
suggests that there is a more positive relationship at the building level than at a district-wide
level. Regardless about how employees, or others for that matter, want to interpret these results,
they are serious issues that need the attention of all involved in the district.
Develop Communication Strategies that Inform the Employees about the Governance of
the Organization
Generally, employee's perceptions show that over 60% believe the Easton Area Board of
Education supports the education of all students, yet only 47% see that support in terms of
providing appropriate resources. While the difference between these two statements seems
wide, further review about the concept of “support” needs clarification. Here may be an
example that in communication, one party has defined the meaning of “support” one way and
the other party has a different interpretation. How the Board shares its decisions and why those
decisions are made, may provide an avenue for closing the interpretation gap.
Board policies and the implementation of policies may be overwhelming when one considers
the volume of policies, the interpretations and intended meaning, and how the policies affect
employees and operations. The survey results in these areas seem to indicate a need for further
clarification and discussion.
Finally, employee perceptions regarding how the board receives and acts on employee concerns
shows that only 20% feel the board is responsive to employee issues. Further discussion is
necessary to determine if these concerns refer to collective bargaining agreements, the chain of
command, or the concerns raised by individuals. Board responsibilities usually involve a
macro, legislative involvement, and not a micro-management involvement. All stakeholders
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 may benefit from a clear understanding of roles and how concerns are addressed. However
issues are raised, a clear process needs to be discussed, and if one exists, then this may be a
starting point to shared engagement.
2. Expand the Survey Topics for Data Collection
Understandably, the Board wanted to gain insight into employee attitudes and working
conditions. It is suggested that the Board consider future surveys that seek input from parents,
students, and the community. While future surveys can continue to be broad-based for progress
monitoring and comparison to the baseline results of this survey, further discussion needs to
include areas such as diversity, school and community safety, parental engagement, academic
achievement, curriculum, and other areas that may be important to the Easton Area School
District for a strategic planning process.

3. Closing Remarks
It cannot be emphasized enough that this survey is the collection of employee perceptions at a
specific point in time. Although the results of this survey are rich with data, no one survey can
provide enough data to make any final decisions without careful discussion and deliberation
into the issues at hand. The responses do give a starting point for change. Understanding the
motivation behind responses can come from honest, meaningful engagement of stakeholders.
This particular survey provides a baseline of data from which the results of future surveys can
be compared. Progress towards the climate desired by all affiliated with the EASD can be
measured to this baseline. The process is complex and takes time to reach conclusions leading
to the important goals necessary to influence a positive climate. Discussions should lead to
measurable action plans, persons responsible to see the actions are carried out, and
accountability for the results of those action plans. Action plans need more than verbal support.
Dedicated resources are necessary for the success of any strategic initiative if institutional
change is to be realized. All discussions should include the vision of a culture sought by the
stakeholders that establishes the working conditions necessary for change to occur.
Finally, it is apparent that employees who participated in this survey did so because of the deep
respect for their profession and strong desire to be part of a positive climate. There were
positive remarks and critical remarks. The road to change is difficult and bumpy. Not everyone
will agree with employee perceptions. Respecting them is more important than agreeing with
them. Pursuing the goals desired forces us to face the uncomfortable results of listening to each
other. Employee perceptions deserve to be heard and discussed. Their voices are part of a
collective representing the need for advancing the type of climate conducive for the education
of all students.

Respectfully,
Angelo R. Senese, Ed.D.
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