Cape School District conducts 'climate' survey

Starting this week, students from elementary to high school, along with parents, faculty, staff and school board members are being invited to take an anonymous online survey about the perceptions and attitudes in the Cape Girardeau School District.

Compiled by the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis at the University of Missouri and obtained through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the survey is voluntary and will be used to help improve the district, superintendent James Welker said. It will be available from Tuesday through May 15 and will be sent out electronically.

The district has about 4,000 students, 700 staff members and seven board members. Participants do not have to answer every question and don't have to complete a survey at all, according to information from DESE.

If people do not have a computer at home, they may use computers set up in the lobby of the administration building, 301 N. Clark Ave., and Welker said the district would try to make computers available in the offices of other buildings, as well. Students may take the survey at school.

"We'll work with our building principals to get that done," he said.

Welker said he does not know when the district will receive results, but the best way to review them would probably be at a school board workshop or retreat.

Questionnaires are divided by grade level and geared toward those taking the survey -- third and fourth grades; fifth grade; middle school/junior high, grades six through eight; secondary students, grades nine through 12; parents, board of education, faculty and support staff.

As the respondents get older, the questions become more numerous and involved. The number of questions ranges from 20 for the lower grades to 76 for grades nine through 12 and 104 for the faculty questionnaire.

Questions cover a variety of areas from whether students in third and fourth grade agree that they can do well in school and that they like reading to "teachers in my school really care about me." Feeling safe at school is covered in many of the questionnaires.

Other examples in the survey are whether students agree they are treated fairly at school, that their teachers think they can learn, discipline is handled fairly at the school they attend and a counselor makes regular visits to the students' classroom.

The survey for students in grades six through eight asks about how many hours of TV they watch daily and how many hours they spend playing on a computer or with video games, and whether there are students from the school who belong to street gangs. It also asks how much time the student spends on homework each day and how often someone at home helps them with their homework. It also asks whether students are asked to revise or correct errors in their work, and whether they feel teachers and administrators value their opinion.

Parents are asked what will take up the largest share of their child's time in the year after high school. It also covers household income, the parents' level of education, and gauges parent involvement.

Board questions cover items such as whether members agree or disagree that the district has created specific strategies to better involve parents in the education of their child; discusses student performance on a regular basis; monitors economic and demographic trends in the community; and annually reviews follow-up data on graduates in postsecondary education, work and the military.

Welker said there are several different ways the results can be used -- as part of the district's Comprehensive School Improvement Plan, by the administrative council, which includes principals and central office administrators who meet monthly, and the leadership teams at the schools.

"We're not required to do it, but we just thought it would be a really good idea and a good way of collecting data about people's perceptions about the school district," Welker said. "As we look at ways that we can improve, we'll look at the data and see what kinds of things we might need to focus on in the future. It is mostly built around climate, educational processes, safety; there's maybe a little bit in there about facilities, but it's mostly climate."

Welker said the results will be tabulated anonymously and he understands there is no place to put the participant's name and no way to track them.

"We expect them to give us their honest opinion," Welker said.

"We wanted to give people the opportunity to give us input as far as their perception of the school district," he said. "We can take that information and use it as we plan for the future and look at what we're doing and ways we can improve our school district."

Now in his sixth year with the district, Welker said a survey like this has not been conducted since he's been here.

"We're constantly trying to improve our school system," he said. "This will just give us some more information to help us do that."

Welker said the surveys are used as part of DESE's reviews for the Missouri School Improvement Program, or MSIP, and for accreditation purposes.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.