ABSS teacher survey shows high satisfaction, but misconduct complaints persist

ABSS teachers sent a mixed message from their classrooms: 1,369 of 1,473 respondents, or 93%, said they were generally satisfied with the schools where they work, but student misconduct, distractions during instructional time and dirty facilities remained stubborn complaints across the district.

The results came from the 2026 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey, a biennial, anonymous survey of classroom teachers and other licensed school-based educators. State Department of Public Instruction materials say the survey used 100 questions across 11 domains and takes about 20 minutes to complete, giving leaders a broad read on school leadership, teacher leadership, student conduct, safety, community support, instruction and professional development.

For Alamance-Burlington School System leaders, the headline number matched the statewide picture rather than surpassing it. Preliminary 2026 findings showed about 93% of North Carolina teachers believed their school was a good place to work and learn. In ABSS, that level of satisfaction is encouraging in a district that has been working to rebuild morale and avoid the stain of low performance, but it does not erase the problems teachers said they still face every day.

The sharpest concerns centered on behavior and school conditions. ABSS teachers were more likely than statewide respondents to identify misconduct as an issue in more than a dozen categories, a sign that disruptions are still cutting into class time. Teachers also flagged dirty facilities, a problem that touches more than appearances. Unclean buildings can affect student comfort, teacher retention and the working conditions of custodians, maintenance crews and classroom staff across Burlington and the rest of Alamance County.

District leaders told the board the survey showed progress in areas tied to retention, including mutual respect, community support and opportunities for growth. That matters in a system that ABSS describes as the 15th-largest public school district in North Carolina, where small shifts in morale can affect a large number of classrooms.

The survey also makes year-to-year comparisons harder. An earlier question about whether teachers intended to stay with their current district was removed from the 2024 and 2026 versions, limiting the district’s ability to track retention intentions in the same way it did before. In 2022, 82.80% of ABSS teachers said they planned to continue teaching in the district.

The findings landed as ABSS was also locked in a funding dispute with the Alamance County Board of Commissioners, adding another layer of strain to a system trying to keep teachers satisfied while improving conditions inside aging schools.