Spring School Climate Survey Results

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Each Spring, we solicit feedback from all stakeholders via our School Climate Surveys.  I’d like to thank everyone who participated.  Over a one week window, we received feedback from 335 parents (46% increase over prior year), 1,117 students (80% of students in grades 3-12), and 167 staff members…our best participation rates to date!  

Why Are School Climate Surveys Important?

It’s simple.  Oakridge wants to be a great place for employees to work and students to learn where everyone feels like they belong.  This starts with listening to how students, families, and staff feel about school with things like:  safety, respect, behavior, school rules, belongingness, and student recognition. We are listening to you so we can recognize the positive things happening AND learn how to improve the overall school experience. 

Survey Results

Our staff have now reviewed the results of all respondents.  I promised to report back to parents the district level aggregated scores.  You can access them on the 5 Pillars Scorecard page on our website which is how we monitor progress on our Eagle Strategic Plan 3.0.  As a district, even with the significant increase in participation rates, our aggregated school climate perception ratings essentially maintained scores from the prior year:  

1. The aggregate staff rating was 3.1 on a 4.0 scale which was identical to the prior year and at the upper range of average.    
2. Parents had a good/great perception of school climate with an aggregate rating of 3.28 on a 4.0 scale.  
3. The aggregate students rating (grades 3-12) was 2.92 on a 4.0 scale.

Affirmations

Staff have dug deeper into the specific parent feedback within the results.  Here are some notable affirmations we learned from parents across the district:

• 80% of parents feel that the school connects students and/or families to community organizations/resources for needed support, for example, medical/dental, financial assistance, food assistance, etc., rating the question at a 3.53 out of 4.0. 
• 87% of parents reported that their student feels safe going to/from school, rating the question at 3.5 out of 4.0.
• 86% of parents feel welcome at their child’s school rating the question at 3.43 out of 4.0.
• 88% of parents feel that teachers at their child’s school work hard so that students do well, rating the question at 3.34 out of 4.0.

Action Plans to Improve

While each building has detailed school improvement plans that may differentiate slightly from other buildings, the following actions to improve were identified as prominent themes at the district level based on all surveys:   

• We will recognize students for positive behavior more frequently.
• We will respond more consistently to student behaviors.

Thank you!

Again, thank you for your continued support  and engagement as we aim to get better every year.  Oakridge wants to be a great place for employees to work and students to learn where everyone feels like they belong.  This is not possible without the positive collaboration between schools and the community.

Sincerely, 

Tom Livezey
Superintendent