Survey Results: Processing the Data

By Mike Davis, Ph.D.
Head of School

The traditional rhythm of schools is something special, as every new year holds new promise and opportunity.  The nine-month school cycle encourages institutional reflection and improvement every year as teachers and administrators take the summer to look at learning and teaching objectives.  As Head of School, part of my job is to continually guide the institution to new levels of excellence and to sustain our school’s good work.  Part of my summer included looking at results of a survey we conducted for students (grades 3-12) and families about the learning environment of Colorado Academy. I want to thank all of the families and students that participated in this survey. Your commitment of time and energy to this project is incredibly helpful and truly valued. The feedback we received has given me a number of things to ponder, and, frankly, has made me even more excited (if that is possible) about being part of the CA community. It is an extraordinary community and special place, and it is reflected in the survey results.  I want to use this week’s blog to give interested families an overview of those results. I will spend time at during my Back-to School-Night presentations diving a bit deeper into the information for families.
 
Working with a company that helps us benchmark our results on a national level, we intentionally designed a survey that helps us better understand how our students learn and succeed.  Thus, our questions were not specifically designed around themes of “customer satisfaction” that one might more commonly find in a school survey.  
 
We look at all kinds of data when evaluating our programs.  Evidence, such as this year’s 97% retention rate or strong annual and capital giving, gives us insight into family and alumni support for CA’s mission and outcomes.  We also have a range of academic data and results that help us see the areas in which we are excelling and those that require some level of attention.  With the CA Board of Trustees, I track a “mission dashboard” that quantifies many aspects of how effectively we achieve our mission.  Survey data is one piece of the various streams of data we consider.  
 
In my 12 years of being a school leader, I find direct, face-to-face conversation about issues to be the most effective way of identifying areas of challenge. As all administrators have open-door policies and have multiple parent meetings during the year, there were few surprises in the survey.   Yet, this data is helpful in seeing some large trends and some fine nuances. Surveys like this ensure that we are attuned to emerging issues as we approach teaching and learning, some of the most complex of human endeavors.
 
At CA, we serve 967 students, ages 4-18.  We have three generations of parents that we serve, as well: Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials.  We have more than 200 full-time employees, many with a deep history with the institution. Thus, we serve a broad range of individuals and interests.  The school’s mission and our work on behalf of students unite us.
 
So what did we learn?  A key takeaway is our need to continually affirm our institutional values.  We also need to find ways to create a community that is more intentionally inclusive of working parents, who have a harder time attending campus events. People who responded to the survey affirmed what aspects of a CA education are meaningful and helpful to their child’s learning. At the same time, the surveys turned up areas of pure contradiction. For example, some parents felt that the school’s academic expectations are too intense and some felt they are not demanding enough.  At times, we saw a disconnect between the students’ voice and that of the parents.  Students’ perception of school safety ranked favorably -- in the 99th percentile  -- when CA’s results were benchmarked against thousands of schools nationwide; whereas parents’ perception of safety ranked about average.  (I believe this is more reflective of a general parental anxiety around issues of school safety.)  
 
Using data from student surveys, we will spend the year sharing details with our teachers and identifying strategies for improvement, when necessary.  As we anticipated some of the concern areas through our own knowledge and critical perspective, we have some working plans in place for addressing a range of issues, from looking critically at our schedule/calendar to improving certain curricular fields. We have provided an Executive Summary of the survey for you. To access the 2016 Spring Survey, log into the CA website and visit your Divisional News Page on the Resource Board. The survey is available on the top right or each Divisional News Page.
 

 
Again, I want to extend an invitation for any direct conversation.  As a parent at CA for nine years and as an educator, I care deeply about this institution and want to do all that I can to ensure that a positive learning environment exists for all of our students.  
 
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