Guest Column: Results of District-wide School Satisfaction Survey Presented at Board Meeting

During Tuesday night's Dublin Unified School District Board Meeting, Superintendent Stephen Hanke shared the results of the first annual district-wide survey of students (grades 4 and up), parents and district staff.  Summary results of the student and parent surveys were shared with the Board. 

Using online survey technology and with the help of a parent volunteer, the school district was able to survey a large percentage of students and hundreds of parents for less than $200.  At Dublin High School nearly 85% of all students took the survey.  The District plans to make the survey an annual ritual.

The survey was fielded in May 2010 at all school sites.  Parents were notified of the survey via take home fliers, postings on the District website and via email.  The student survey was close to a census whereas the parent survey was a sizable, but not necessarily statistically representative (i.e., random), sample.  It was noted that an area of focus for next year is getting a better response from elementary school parents, in particular parents of K-3 children.  The survey was written by a committee including district staff, administrators, teachers, DTA representatives and a parent representative.

Some of the highlights noted by the District include:

• Dublin parents and teachers are setting high standards for Dublin students: 94% of Dublin High and middle school students agree or strongly agree with the statement "It is very important to my family that I do well in school". At the elementary school level, 94% of students agree or strongly agree with the statement "My teachers expect me to do my best."
• Dublin schools are considered safe (90% of parents agreed or strongly agreed).
• Dublin schools are doing a good job preparing students for the next level (76% of parents agreed or strongly agreed).

Some areas the District plans to investigate further include:

• Only 43% of Dublin High students agree that "Dublin High's discipline policy is clear and fair."
• The percentage of parents helping their child with homework peaks at 84% at the elementary level, dropping to 53% in middle school and 32% at the high school level.
• Superintendent Hanke views improved communication as an area of focus with 66% of parents agreeing that "The Dublin Unified School District communicates effectively with parents and the community" – a number he believes should be higher.

During the question and answer portion of the presentation, School Board President David Haubert recommended further investigation into the 15% of middle school students that disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "I feel safe while I'm at school" (note: 76% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement).

The survey also highlighted how video games, TV and computers play a major role in the lives of Dublin children – approximately 70% of Dublin middle and high school students (and 60% of elementary school students) responded that they spend more than one hour per day playing video games, watching TV or playing on a computer (with a meaningful percentage spending more than 3 hours per day).

The detailed survey results will next be shared with the District Leadership Team, the Superintendent's Council and individual school sites, all leading to action plans for 2010-11.  Because this is the first year the survey has been fielded, and a lack of standardized school surveys across California, it isn't possible to compare the results of this survey with a benchmark.

The District presentation summarizing the results is available here.

James Morehead is a member of the Dublin High School School Site Council and founder of www.OneDublin.org (a parent-run organization committed to education excellence). He will occasionally write for Dublin Patch.