Survey Generates Valuable Feedback for School Officials

The following press release is courtesy of Superintendent Lisa Dana on behalf of the Danvers Public School System regarding the District Climate Survey. 

June 30, 2011 – A comprehensive survey of Danvers teachers, parents and community members has generated valuable feedback for school district officials. The survey focused on issues managed by the central office, in contrast to issues managed by individual school sites; it showed strong participation from teachers and staff, modest participation from parents and only a weak participation from non-parent residents of Danvers. The survey was part of a broader effort by Danvers Public Schools to include every voice in the vital work of educating Danvers’ children.

“We reach out to parents twice every year, community members (residents who do not have a child attending a district school) at least once, and our teachers and staff on more than three occasions. This two-way dialogue brings us all closer,” said Dr. Lisa Dana, Superintendent of Danvers Public Schools. In keeping with a commitment made last fall when the survey program was deployed, the results from each survey have been shared publicly in an effort to build greater transparency and accountability.

A key area of investigation at this end of the year through the “District Climate” survey was to see how people perceived the district’s progress against their strategic plan.

Of the 20 goals that appear under seven themes in the plan, the district asked for input on four: (1) highly effective instruction, (2) a safe and welcoming school environment, (3) equal access for all students to high quality facilities and technology and (4) strong communication to build trust with parents and the Danvers community. Over 90% of parents indicated they felt progress had been made in each of these areas. The ratings from teachers were slightly higher, except in the case of facilities and technology where 87% of teachers and staff indicated they felt progress had been made. 

Another area explored within the survey was the community’s experience working with the district’s school committee, the superintendent’s office and the administrative council. Nearly 90% of parents and community members who needed to speak to a school committee member were able to reach them and nearly 80% of them indicated that they felt their concerns were handled in a courteous and professional manner. Similarly, 85% of parents and community members who needed to speak with the superintendent’s office or a member of the administrative council were able to do so; 88% said they felt the administrator listened to their concerns politely and 78% said their ideas were considered and addressed in a professional manner. In a letter to parents, teachers, staff and the community, Dr. Dana wrote, “we will carefully listen to your concerns, make a sincere effort to fully understand them and advise in a manner that is courteous and clear as to what action, if any, you can expect from us.”

The survey was completed by 450 parents, 310 teachers and staff, and 15 members of Danvers community who do not have children in district schools. According to K12 Insight, a Virginia-based firm that specializes in such surveys and administered the surveys for Danvers Schools, the response rate for teachers and staff was better than the average for such studies in other comparable school districts; however, there is clearly a need do better in pushing for responses from parents and community members. (More than twice as many parents had responded to the school’s climate survey on site level issues last fall.)

Dr. Dana acknowledged the district has more work to do to persuade more non-parents to participate in future surveys. “It is worth emphasizing that our parents receive no more than two surveys, and residents who have no children in Danvers Public schools only one survey from the school district. We understand everyone is busy and therefore, we have designed this program to be convenient while covering all key areas. The reputation of Danvers schools affects every resident in this community, so everyone should have a stake in our schools,” she said.

When asked to highlight what was most important to them from a list of ten items that are the key areas of service by central office, every group, without exception, indicated that class size was by far the most important element in sustaining a sound education. “Although issues like transportation and school lunches are comparatively less important, survey participants told us that these are areas still in need of greater attention,” said Dr. Dana. Respondents noted that they preferred communication using technology like the Parent Notification System (ConnectEd) and the district’s website for sharing information. The district is making greater use of technology tools like email and social networking to not only share information but also to engage parents, staff and community members in the decision making process.

Additional highlights:

• 95% of respondents indicated that strong schools were important to them.

• 77% of parents and 87% of teachers and staff gave the district an overall grade of an A or a B.

• The district specifically asked parents and teachers about their thoughts on the process behind some key decisions that were made last year. Over 80% of parents and close to 90% of teachers and staff felt that the school district shared relevant facts before making decisions and they approved of the decisions made by the same margin. However, only 65% of parents and 81% of teachers and staff felt they had an opportunity to provide input on those decisions.

• 85% of parents and 93% of teachers and staff indicated they are familiar with the school district’s partnership with DanversCARES program and nearly 69% of respondents felt the program was doing a good job of promoting health in the community.

• 95% of parents acknowledged that they felt welcome to attend school activities.

• 61% of parents noted that the district does a good job on transportation for children and 73% gave a positive rating to the district’s food services.