Initial Letter to Teacher

Dear Teacher Name,
The National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S.
Census Bureau would like to thank you for making the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey
(SASS) a success. Once again, we are asking for your insight into the teaching profession in the
United States.
This year we are conducting the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) with a sample of teachers who
participated in SASS. The TFS is a survey that is more focused on changes in your career and life
factors that affect work than the SASS and will take less time to complete. Your contribution will
help to:
•
•
•
•

Measure teacher retention and attrition
Understand the effects of school policies and practices on teachers’ decisions to remain in
or leave the profession
Develop incentive programs to encourage teachers to remain in the profession
Describe how teachers rate their workplace conditions relative to other professions

We encourage you to participate in this survey. For your convenience, the Internet link to the
survey, as well as your username and password, have also been sent to you via e-mail if your email address was available. Your responses will be collected on a secure website. To login to the
Teacher Follow-up Survey:
1. Go to https://
;
2. Enter
for your username;
3. Enter
for your password;
4. Click Login to participate in the survey.
If you have any questions, please contact the Census Bureau staff at 1-866-872-6868. Staff will
be available to take your call Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Eastern
Time). The U.S. Census Bureau is also available to answer your questions via e-mail at
[email protected].
Your responses are protected by federal statute (P.L. 107-279, Title I, Part E, Sec. 183). Your
answers may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in
identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law. The information you provide
will be combined with the information provided by others in statistical summaries. Your
participation is very important to ensure that this survey yields meaningful results. However, you
may decline to answer any or all of the items.
For additional information about the TFS, please see the reverse side of this letter or visit
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/respondents.asp. For results from the 2004-05 TFS survey,
please go to http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007307.
Thank you, again, in advance for your cooperation in this important survey effort.
Sincerely,

Stuart Kerachsky
Acting Commissioner for Education Statistics
Office of the Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics
What is the purpose of this survey?
The purpose of this survey is to obtain information about the career paths of new teachers,
including current teachers’ experiences and satisfaction, and about former teachers’ current
employment and reasons for leaving the teaching profession.
Who authorizes this survey?
This survey is authorized by Title I, Part E, Sections 151(b) and 153(a) of Public Law 107-279,
the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this survey
for The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education.
Why should you participate in this survey?
Policymakers and educational leaders rely on data from this survey to inform their decisions
concerning K-12 schools. This survey provides important insight into the career paths of
beginning teachers and your participation will contribute to the success of this data collection.
Because it is a sample survey, your responses represent the responses of many. Higher response
rates give us confidence that the findings are accurate.
Will your responses be kept confidential?
Your responses are protected by federal statute (P.L. 107-279, Title I, Part E, Sec. 183). Your
answers may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in
identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law.
How will your information be reported?
The information you provide will be combined with the information provided by others in
statistical reports. No individually-identifiable data will be included in the statistical reports.

Paperwork Burden Statement
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a
collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid
OMB control number for this information collection is 1850-0617. The time required to
complete this information collection is estimated to average __ minutes per response, including
the time spent to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather the data needed, and
complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the
accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S.
Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-4651. If you have comments or concerns
regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, e-mail: [email protected], or
write directly to: Schools and Staffing Survey, National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K
Street, N.W., #9018, Washington, DC 20006.