Members of the Spring ISD Parent Advisory Council hear the results of the district’s recent School Quality Survey.
HOUSTON – May 16, 2018 – More stakeholders than ever took part in the district’s third annual School Quality Survey this spring, with 80 percent of parents rating the overall quality of their campus as excellent or good, a 17-percentage-point increase from the year before.
In total, 16,090 people took part in the survey, including 4,552 parents, 2,650 staff members, and 8,888 students in grades 6-12, marking an 84-percent increase in overall participation from 2017, when 8,735 people responded.
“We’re very pleased to see that increase in participation and want to thank everyone who took part,” said Spring ISD Chief Communications Officer Tiffany Dunne-Oldfield. “The results are an important measure in understanding how we can better serve our students, families and staff members.”
The survey was open from Jan. 15 through Feb. 6 and accessible via email invitations, a public link and paper copies. The questions addressed five dimensions of school quality: academic preparation, student support, school leadership, family involvement, and safety and behavior.
The district’s independent research and communications partner, K12 Insight, administered the survey to ensure the confidentiality of all participants. Shelby McIntosh, K12 Insight vice president, presented the results to the Spring ISD Board of Trustees at a work session on May 3.
One reason for the higher participation numbers this year was a district push to offer and promote the survey in paper format in both Spanish and English on elementary campuses. Oldfield said that strategy helped reach more parents than in past years. Specifically, the results show that more African American and Latino parents took the survey, as did more parents who speak Spanish at home.
With the third year of survey results now in, she said the district is better able to measure progress over time in achieving goals set out in the EVERY CHILD 2020 strategic plan. One area where the district continues to see year-over-year growth is parent perceptions of safety and behavior on their child’s campus, which has increased 11 percentage points since the first survey in 2015-16.
An area of strength for the district over the past three years continues to be keeping families informed about school-sponsored activities with 86 percent of parents agreeing or strongly agreeing with that statement, up from 74 percent in 2015-16.
Julie DeVries, the PTA treasurer at Link Elementary and a member of the district’s Parent Advisory Council, said she was pleased with the survey results. At her campus, she encouraged people to take the time to complete the questionnaire. She’s also noticed a push at her school to make parents feel welcomed and informed.
“The administration is making it a very welcoming environment,” she said. “They are always encouraging parents to come and help. If parents have concerns, they know that they can come and be involved in the campus.”
Other key 2017-18 survey results:
· 82 percent of responding parents said their school has high learning standards for all students.
· At least 74 percent of staff, parents and students said there is a teacher, counselor, or other staff member to whom a student can go for help with a school problem.
· 78 percent of parents, 79 percent of staff, and 43 percent of students responding to the survey said staff members and students treat each other with respect. That marks a seven, 11 and one percentage-point increase over 2015-16.
· 73 percent of participating parents, 90 percent of participating staff members, and 68 percent of participating students said bullying is not tolerated. That marks a seven percentage-point increase for parents and staff, and a two percentage-point increase for students since 2015-16.
· 84 percent of participating parents said their child’s school is safe, a four-point percentage increase since 2015 -16.
· 73 percent of parents, 72 percent of staff members and 46 percent of students responding to the survey said discipline is enforced fairly. That marks a seven percentage-point increase for parents and staff, and a two percentage-point increase for students since 2015-16.
· 82 percent of parents and 90 percent of staff surveyed said students are treated fairly at school regardless of their race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disabilities.
With the results of the survey in hand, Spring ISD Superintendent Rodney E. Watson said the data would be used at the campus level to set goals and develop improvement plans.
“These results are evidence that progress is possible when everyone stays focused on improving the student experience in our schools,” he said. “We’ve come a long way since the first survey year and still have work to do, but we’re committed to using this survey data to guide us as we strive for additional improvement.”
View the complete results below.
2018 School Quality Survey – Complete Results