School survey results shared

MANAWA – Recent survey results from the staff, parents and students within the Manawa School District has yielded positive and favorable results overall.
The survey was conducted by School Perceptions, and this is the second year the district has used this company.
Ryan Peterson, the Manawa school district administrator, said these surveys are a great tool to keep up to date with the concerns and needs of the students, staff and community.
“We believe this information is vital for the school district to understand and be responsive to the needs of the community,” Peterson said. “We believe the best school districts are monitoring this type of feedback and using it to inform practice and set future goals for the district.”
Daren Sievers, from School Perceptions, was on hand virtually to reveal the results to the school board at the recent meeting July 25.

From school staff
Sievers started his presentation with the staff results, of which had a 72 percent participation number, the survey asked staff questions regarding their workday, work environment and support.
The five highest scoring categories were feeling safe at work, having healthy relationships with coworkers, they agreed the staff does a great job educating students, they believe students are given equal opportunities to succeed and that overall they look forward to going to work.
The survey gave staff a rating of one to five to score each item, with five being the best, all of the above scored above four.
The five items that received the lowest scores were whether the staff input is valued, access to technology support, social and emotional needs of students being met, not receiving important information in a timely manner and whether the district seeks input from a large group of staff members.

The lower scores ranged from 3.39 to 3.26 being the lowest.

From parents
Sievers also discussed survey results from parents in the community at the July 25 school board meeting.
Only 17 percent of parents responded, which Sievers said is pretty typical with parents tending to be the most difficult to take surveys, the average for parental participation generally hovers around 30 percent he said.
The survey sent to parents focused on leadership and communication and school experience.

The five highest scoring categories for parents were that parents feel welcome at their child’s school, they feel the facilities are well kept, they feel their child is being treated with respect and dignity, their child feels safe at school and that they have one school staff member they feel comfortable reaching out to.
These scores ranged from 4.35 to 4.19.
The lowest scores went to how to support their child’s learning, being satisfied with the school’s efforts to address bullying, the school communications being timely, the amount their child is learning and their child getting help when needed.
These scores still range on the higher side on the scale, with numbers ranging from 3.93 to 3.8.

From students

Lastly, Sievers talked about the students survey results, with a 57 percent participation rate.
Student surveys asked about classes and teachers, life at school and people around them.
The survey was taken by students in fourth grade and up, Sievers said younger students aren’t able to answer the survey questions as easily as the older grades.
The survey showed the top five results for students were that they have friends to hang out with at lunch or at school, parents help with school work as much as they can, friends that can help when needed, teachers treat them with respect and helping other people when they can.
The scores ranged from 4.69 to 4.43.
The lower scores were from students feeling safe answering questions in class if they are unsure of the answer, feeling comfortable talking to someone when they are being bullied, relating to what they are learning in school, feeling students are following rules at school and talking to people outside of school about what they are learning.
These scores ranged from 3.59 to 3.10.

Progress
Sievers said the results showed numbers progressing up in most areas of the survey.
“The survey shows that the student experience has improved over the last couple of years,” Peterson said. “We are intentionally working to create a supportive school environment for our students.”

Peterson said he was pleased to see growth in their key priority areas, supportive environments, facility, finance and operational excellence.
All three survey groups reported being pleased with the buildings and the shape they are in, as well as providing a modern environment for education.
Peterson said they intend to continue working on communication and academic results, as the survey revealed that respondents did not know a lot about the academic programming for the district.
“We have great things happening in the district, but oftentimes it goes unnoticed,” Peterson said. “We continue to close gaps for many of our most struggling learners as we continue to see positive results around literacy for our students.”