Let’s dig into how this school year compares so far to last school year.
Staff: A Growing Sense of Direction
Analyzing staff survey data last year was, well, rough. When we pooled all our staff survey data together for last school year, no staff questions improved. None. Not a one. Every item was worse than the year before.
This year? Not so much. Our data shows that staff feel substantially better now than they did before. Five items stand out.
|
Staff Survey Question |
Growth |
|
Our school's student discipline practices and policies are effective. |
8.7% |
|
The social and emotional needs of all students are being met. |
7.6% |
|
Our staff handles student discipline in a consistent manner. |
7.5% |
|
The District seeks input from a broad group of staff members. |
6.5% |
|
The District is heading in the right direction. |
6.3% |
Those first three items are particularly notable because they were the bottom three last year. Translation? Districts are making huge gains on items where staff were struggling. Efforts appear to not only be focused but also paying off. The other two items are no less important. Staff feel more heard and that their leaders are taking them in the right direction.
More broadly, every staff item is scoring better than last year except for two, and those items are holding steady.
Parents: Trust through Communication
Unlike staff, parent scores last year were mostly up across the board. There was some growing dissatisfaction with their respective school boards, but that was about it. Other than that, parent scores were better last year than the year before.
This year’s growth is even more impressive because the upward trend has continued. It’s harder to keep an A than it is to get an A. The five parent items with the most growth:
|
Parent Survey Question |
Growth |
|
School communication is both timely and transparent. |
5.0% |
|
I am satisfied with our school's efforts to address bullying. |
4.7% |
|
There is a healthy culture at our school. |
3.7% |
|
If my child breaks a rule at school, they are treated fairly. |
3.5% |
|
Overall, how would you rate communications from school? |
3.4% |
Schools continue to make concerted efforts to improve communication, and it shows. Parents feel that communications are more useful, more timely, and more transparent. Parents also feel like schools are doing a better job of handling bullying issues, which also improves overall school culture.
We could have extended this table and been no less excited. Parents feel like their schools are raising expectations for their kids, that their children enjoy going to school more than in years past, that they have opportunities to provide feedback to school staff (more communication!), and that their schools are heading in the right direction.
You can’t see it, but we have big smiles typing this.
Students: Building Confidence and Belong
Students, much like their parents and teachers, are painting a pretty rosy picture. Every student item from this year scores better than last year. None have declined. What’s more, the items that increased the most are some of the most important areas to see growth. Take a look at the table below.
|
Student Survey Question |
Growth |
|
If I were bullied, I would feel comfortable talking to someone about it. |
7.6% |
|
Most kids at school follow the rules. |
6.9% |
|
The homework and projects I'm assigned help me learn and are more than just busywork. |
6.5% |
|
I know my teachers care about me. |
5.7% |
|
I talk to people outside of school about what I'm learning. |
5.5% |
A few notes about these questions. First, you can start to see the overlap between survey groups. Parents feel like bullying issues are being handled better and so do students. Staff feel like discipline issues are improving. So do students.
More specifically for students, they are talking to people outside of school about what they’re learning. This is a huge marker of student engagement. Relatedly (and unsurprisingly), they feel like the schoolwork they’re doing is more meaningful. More interesting projects means students are excited to talk about them.
The last item above may be the most encouraging. Students will not—cannot—succeed at school if they don’t feel like the adults around them care about them. While this question improved in years past, it’s never improved this much. And once students feel cared for, they can focus on their work, discipline issues decrease, and their engagement soars.
Tempered Hopefulness
As you might sense, we’re pretty excited. Of the 81 questions across the staff, student, and parent surveys, 77 of these items are better. The other four are either exactly where they were before or have only declined by one-hundredth of a point.
All that said, we’re halfway through the year. We’ll keep an eye on these data points and report back in July for a full year’s recap. So much more to come!
The School Perceptions Blog and Resource Center features the voices of our team members. This post was written by Rob DeMeuse, Vice President of Research.