Kevin Mower: School Surveys are Coming
by Kevin Mower
You will be receiving links to several surveys in the next two weeks from the Manchester Community Schools. Like many parents, you may wonder if it is worth the time to complete the surveys? In previous years, the surveys were very long and had uncertain outcomes. You may wonder, do these results just check a box for the district? Are they part of compliance for the state or funding?
Why is the district engaging in surveys?
As a part of the school improvement process, the state requires us to continuously improve our schools. We can do this through the Michigan Department of Education’s process or work with AdvancEd, formerly known as NCA (North Central Association). As a part of the process, consistently surveying stakeholders (parents, students, faculty, staff, and community) is essential. Sadly, AdvancEd’s surveys are written in hard to access language and are very long. They also don’t cover all the subjects the District School Improvement Team (DSIT) would like them to cover.
The DSIT broke the longer surveys into shorter surveys. They cover the topics of Communication/District Roles, Building/Grounds/Transportation/Athletics, Curriculum, Continuous Improvement, and Student Support/Advocacy, and Leadership.
The District School Improvement Team’s members, including Cherie Vannatter, Randy Smith, Mark Ball, Brett Whalen, Kerry Wolf, Joanna Van Raden, Sara Scheil, Karen Rothfuss, Jacki Bonner, Michael Austin, Dara Psarathoukas, Mason Horning, Madison Kemner, Kathleen Lixey, Jennifer Mayes, Shanna Spickard, and Kevin Mowrer, have been working on survey length extensively. Our community indicated that the maximum number of questions should be 15. To provide this length, DSIT divided up the areas and then divided up the school community so that each stakeholder only had to answer questions about one of the areas, in addition to 21st Century Learning, and district leadership.
What that means for you is that you only will have to complete three short surveys in February. DSIT’s goal this year was to provide excellent feedback without causing survey fatigue. The effort to create, revise, and finalize the surveys has been painstaking at times, so we hope you will give the surveys a full and complete effort.
We feel that surveys allow all stakeholders to contribute to the direction of the district. Whether you are outgoing, reserved, with plenty of time, or with no time, you will get a chance to have their voice heard.
The surveys are electronic, so you will need an internet hook-up to complete them. Anything from dial-up to cable should work as these surveys are basically links. They also can be taken on mobile devices. If you are without internet or smart phone, you can contact the office to take part in the survey.
How will we use the surveys?
When we plan for each school year, we want to know student, parent, community, faculty, and staff perception. This allows us to have an important data source, outside of standardized tests, attendance and graduation rates, and teacher/administration evaluations, to direct our efforts for the following year.
In the district’s buildings, surveys are consistently used to gauge understanding, opinion, and perception. For example, at the high school level, all students take a survey to indicate the classes they would prefer to have run. In many districts around the state, administration makes choices for running classes disregarding the interest and views of the students. In Manchester, we build our master schedule, as best we can, on student interest and need.
We appreciate your time and effort in completing the surveys. They are valuable to enacting our vision of “educational excellence in a caring community.”
Please email any questions to the building principals or the superintendent.
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