We are committed to gathering the perspectives of parents, staff, and students to better understand our strengths and challenges as a district.
Last spring parents, students, and staff were invited to complete a survey to measure our progress as a District toward meeting school and District goals. 1,940 parents
completed the District Survey – a 34% response rate. We combined the results of
the Parent Survey with responses from 2,981 Students in grades 3 to 12 and 669
Staff to share highlights of the key findings:
Evidence of Progress Toward Meeting District Goals Shown for each goal as the average of percent
favorable responses for Parents, Students, and Staff combined :
Goal 1 - Advance
Learning for All Students: 85% favorable
·
Efficacy: How
much students believe they can succeed (87%) / Parent perception on supporting their
child’s learning (86%) / Staff perception on supporting students’ learning (96%)
·
School Engagement (student-only measure): How attentive and invested students feel about
school (69%)
·
Homework furthering learning: Student perception (52%) / Parent perception (71%) / Staff
perception (76%)
·
Involvement in decision-making about education: Student perception (71%) /
Parent perception (88%) / Staff perception of encouraging parent involvement (93%)
·
Curriculum meeting needs: Student perception (86%) / Parent perception (91%) / Staff
perception (92%)
·
High Academic Standards: Student perception (96%) / Parent perception (86%) / Staff perception
(98%)
Goal 2 - Develop
Social, Emotional, Wellness, and Citizenship Skills: 89% favorable
·
School Belonging: Students feeling like valued member of the school community (83%) / Parents
reporting: “School matches my child’s development needs” (88%) / Staff feeling ready
to address diversity in school community (95%)
·
School Climate: Perception of overall social and learning climate of school (Students 81%;
Parents 92%; Staff 94%)
·
Social Awareness (student-only measure): How well students consider others’ perspectives and
empathize (92%)
·
Feeling Safe:
Student perception (93%) / Parent perception (95%) / Staff perception (94%)
·
Feeling Stressed: 39% of Students report feeling quite stressed or overwhelmed / 17% of Parents
perceive their child feels quite stressed or overwhelmed by school / 35% of Staff
perceive students feeling quite stressed and overwhelmed
Goal 3 - Ensure Infrastructure
Supports Learning Goals: 84% favorable
·
Adequacy of programs/services: Highest measures for
Nursing (94%) and Media Center (95%), and lowest measures for Afterschool
Programs and Food Services (85%)
·
Resources: Perception of adequacy of school’s resources
including instructional, human, technology, facility (81%) with highest measure
for “Ease of accessing extra support” (92%) and lowest measure for “Adequate number
of staff/specialists to help students” (61% according to parents and 45%
according to staff)
·
Effective Communication: Student perception (83%) / Parent
perception (89%) / Staff Perception (87%)
·
Professional Learning: (staff-only measure) Perception of the amount
and quality of professional growth and learning opportunities available to
school staff (80%)
Representative open-ended comments from Parents, Students, and Staff:
Parents: “I think the teachers and
administrators do a wonderful job of creating a positive learning environment
for the students.” “I truly appreciate everything the district does to ensure a
top-quality education for our children.” “Schools are underfunded and caseloads
are way too high!” “Student-to-teacher ratios are such that we feel the
teachers do not have enough time/energy to really get to know each student.” “Facilities
could use some attention.” (701 parent comments)
Students: “Teachers are always there for me.” “I think this is a very strong school system and I think I am lucky to be in it.” “Homework can really make kids get stressed and overwhelmed if they have a lot.” “We need consistent heat and AC in every room.” “Get more assistant teachers to help some kids that need more help.” (1,411 student comments)
Staff: “Overall, NPS provides a positive, supportive teaching environment.” “I feel fortunate to work in a district that is dedicated to improving itself by soliciting feedback.” “Anxiety is significantly impacting students in my school more each year.” “Wish we had more support staff to help kids who struggle academically.” (54 staff comments)
Your voices have been heard, and we appreciate your feedback! The survey allows our district to celebrate strengths and respond to goal areas
needing attention.
To view the survey results, check out the District’s website: 2018 NPS Parent, Staff, and Student Survey Results
