NC schools chief promises to run the Krispy Kreme Challenge – if teachers do this

State Schools Superintendent Mark Johnson is willing to risk a massive case of indigestion and public embarrassment in order to hear how North Carolina teachers feel about their working conditions.

North Carolina teachers have through the end of March to anonymously complete the 2018 Teaching Working Conditions Survey at https://ncteachingconditions.org. In a video posted Thursday, Johnson said he's offering "a little extra motivation" by promising to run in the 2019 Krispy Kreme Challenge if 95 percent of teachers take the survey and North Carolina has the highest response rate in the nation.

"I have never done a race like this before so I’m not really sure how I would do," Johnson says in the video. "If you want to see your state superintendent do something a little fun and a little different, all you have to do is complete the survey and I guarantee you that it would you take less time to complete the survey than it will take for me to run five miles and eat a dozen donuts.”

Each year, thousands of runners race 2.5 miles from N.C. State University’s Memorial Belltower to the Krispy Kreme shop on the corner of Peace and Person streets in Raleigh. They eat a dozen donuts — 2,400 calories — before running back to the belltower. It's not uncommon for some runners to throw up along the route.

The race has become a national phenomenon that raises a lot of money for charity. In 2017, the race brought in $190,000 for UNC Children’s Hospital, bringing the total raised since 2004 to $1.35 million.

Johnson is using the popularity of the Krispy Kreme Challenge to build interest in the Teacher Working Conditions Survey, which has been offered by the state since 2002 to find out what teachers think is important.

"Knowing how to support you starts with listening to you," Johnson said to teachers in the video. "Technology makes it possible for us to hear from each and every one of you."

In 2016, more than 85 percent of North Carolina teachers completed the survey. Since the survey period opened March 1, 76.3 percent of the state's 122,020 teachers have responded.

Many other states also survey their teachers. Johnson said in the video that North Carolina can beat Kentucky, which leads the nation with a 91 percent response rate.

This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 11:08 AM with the headline "NC schools chief promises to run the Krispy Kreme Challenge – if teachers do this."