140 likes | 295 Vues
Lorain County K-12 Educational Microsurvey. January 2014 Result Summary. Survey Method. Telephone survey of 620 registered voters in Lorain County Fielded for 3 days between January 17-20th Purpose to gauge perceptions of educational achievement, new initiatives and statewide legislation
E N D
Lorain County K-12 Educational Microsurvey January 2014 Result Summary
Survey Method Telephone survey of 620 registered voters in Lorain County Fielded for 3 days between January 17-20th Purpose to gauge perceptions of educational achievement, new initiatives and statewide legislation Stratified by school district geography Not all results add to 100% due to rounding of decimals
Respondent Breakdown • 19% have a child in public school • 76.5% do not have school aged children • 2.9% have a child in private school • 1.3% have a child in online or charter schools • 0.3% home school their child(ren)
Most respondents (80%) believe their school district is doing an excellent or good job of preparing students for their futures. With most giving a “B” grade.
However, only 1/5 believe that education is improving and most believe it is getting worse.
Teachers are the most important indicators of a high quality education. Followed by students being prepared for their futures and schools offering a comprehensive curriculum.
Respondents do not place much stock in the state ratings. State ratings and extracurricular offerings were noted to be the least important when determining a high quality education.
Most do not trust state testing mechanisms or motives. But do support the third grade guarantee. • 61% do not believe increased state testing has helped students. • 67% disagree that policy decisions made at the state level are in the best interests of our students. • 80% disagree that there should be more state government control over our local schools. • 69% state that students scores from one test should not be used to evaluate teachers. • 70% agree that students, teachers and schools should be rated on student grades, parental engagement and graduate success, along with test scores. • Interestingly, 65% support retaining 3rd graders that do not pass state reading tests.
There is overwhelming support for pre-school programs to help students perform better (76%)…
…but they were split on increased taxes to support pre-k programming.
Respondents believe their local tax dollars should support public K-12 education, not “for profit” organizations. • 61% disagree that locally approved tax dollars should support for profit and online charter schools. • 70% agree that those that choose private schools should do so at their own expense. • 32% identified finances as the most significant issue that school districts face. It rated 8 points higher than parental involvement or discipline and safety! • This information, coupled with the findings regarding state testing, indicate that voters believe in local control and appropriate funding of their schools.
Conclusions • Our local schools are succeeding in providing high quality education with dedicated and skilled teachers. • The state continues to change school criteria and mandates, without additional funding. • It is important for all of us to support local K-12 education as we work to prepare students for their futures (and ours). • Currently, local tax dollars for schools do support charter, for profit and parochial schools. • Some schools in our region are suffering, reducing class offerings, letting students out early, providing only the minimums, etc. • If something is not done soon, our schools will collectively reach a critical point.
Next Steps • We will focus public attention on the need to support K-12 education by using the following methods in a planned, consistent format: • Small group meetings with teachers and staff • One-on-one meetings with elected officials, non profit heads and other civic leaders. Begin locally, then spread regionally. • Individual meetings and phone calls with partners from other public educational institutions (JVS, LCCC, etc). • Small group conversations with educational advocates (PTAs, PTOs, Boosters, Foundations, etc). • Community forums, by school district, with residents. • Communication must be two-way. We want your solutions and suggestions as we move forward
Discussion • Is there anything in the survey that surprises you? • Generally, does it reflect your view of education in Lorain County and/or our district? • What is one big “takeaway” you got from the survey? • If you were a district superintendent, how would you respond to what the community is telling us? • Looking from a county-wide perspective, what should be our focus? Next steps?