Families and students gave overall positive responses regarding their desired daily experiences at school, while staff responses were ultimately supportive, although less strong, according to data from a recent school district survey by Albert Lea.

Tonya Franks, the district’s executive director of academics and accountability, said the desired daily experiences were identified as part of the district’s strategic planning work.

The district conducted its first experiences survey in 2022 and conducts annual surveys of students, families and staff to see how groups think these experiences are being had.

For the student portion, the survey was distributed to students in grades six through 12, and more than 800 responded, Franks said. The overall survey goal was to have at least 60% in the agree or strongly agree categories and less than 10% in the strongly disagree or disagree categories.

For students, the most positive response came to the question of whether the school offers a variety of activities where they have the opportunity to try new things and grow, while 70.5% said reported agreeing or completely agreeing. Sixty-nine percent also said they agreed or strongly agreed that they were safe at school.

Sixty-seven percent said they believe their teachers are supportive and valued, while 67.3% agree they have access to resources and feel their needs are met. When asked if they were recognized and appreciated, 57.6% said they agreed or strongly agreed.

Only one question had a disagreement rate above 10% or strongly disagree: this was a question that asked whether students had fun doing engaging activities on interesting topics to help them learn in class .

Most questions had between 23% and 33% in the “neutral” category.

Franks said the data is distributed to individual buildings for further study and for principals to review with their staff. Once the baseline was determined, they could then set goals to achieve in the future.

Responses from families were more favorable, with all questions receiving 60% in the agree or strongly agree categories and all below 10% for the disagree or strongly disagree categories.

She said families feel their children are physically and emotionally safe, their schools are welcoming and they have the resources to meet their children’s needs and are challenged appropriately.

Of approximately 3,500 students enrolled in the district, they received 388 family responses. Families with multiple children were asked to complete the questionnaire for each child. Approximately 68% of responses came from elementary school families.

Board member Gary Schindler said he is happy to see that parents and families feel their students are safe.

About 88% of them agreed or strongly agreed that their child’s school was welcoming to all students, while only 3.9% disagreed or completely disagree.

About 84% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is physically and emotionally safe, and 86.6% responded that their child’s classroom is an engaging learning environment, orderly and productive.

The lowest response was 77.5% agreeing or strongly agreeing that they are connected and have a partnership with their child’s school.

Responses from staff as a whole were less favorable than those from families and students, with three questions below the 60% agree or strongly agree threshold and five questions above the 10% disagree or strongly agree threshold. completely disagree.

About 67% said they agreed or strongly agreed with the idea of ​​working in a safe and orderly school, while 11.4% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Fewer than 52% said they agreed or strongly agreed that they had the resources and time to complete their tasks effectively. Nearly 32% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Fifty-seven percent of staff agreed or strongly agreed that their students’ social and emotional needs are met, while 21.7% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Only 46.2% agreed or strongly agreed that communication from district and building administration is consistent, timely, and relevant, while 27.7% disagreed. or strongly disagree.

Schindler said he appreciates the surveys because they help identify things they can celebrate, as well as things they need to work on.

He said he was happy to see a strong response from staff regarding a collaborative workplace, but noted the disconnect between how students and families in certain categories feel and how staff respond.

Franks said the survey results would be placed on leaders’ January main agenda for further follow-up.

They will discuss some of the most important needs that emerged from the surveys and said they will help guide decisions for continued improvement in the future.

Updates would be presented to the school board in the spring.