Stakeholder Feedback
Dr. Terry Holliday, Superintendent Iredell Statesville Schools, North Carolina
Regular readers of this column know that the school system is implementing the Baldrige management philosophy. This management philosophy is recognized throughout the business world and has recently become a standard for education and health organizations. A key component of the philosophy is stakeholder feedback. In previous articles, I have discussed the opportunities for stakeholders (parents, community, business, students, and colleges) to provide feedback to the school system. In this article, I wanted to let the reader know of some additional efforts by the school system to gain stakeholder feedback.
Parent Focus Groups
The school system will be conducting a series of parent focus groups in each elementary zone during the months of October and November. A randomly selected group of parents should receive an invitation in the next few days to participate in the focus groups. The purpose of the focus groups will be to review the surveys that are administered annually to parents and students. This review will focus on the question - “Are we asking the right questions?” This past year, I did receive parental concerns about excessive homework, test stress, and calendar related issues. Our surveys do not address these particular issues. The focus groups will help us know the right questions to ask. I would encourage parents who receive an invitation to attend to make a special effort to attend and discuss these issues with other parents.
Business Survey
The Chamber of Commerce will be mailing a survey out to each Chamber member and other selected employers in the community. This survey will ask respondents to rate the quality of graduates of the school system whom they employ. Also, the survey will ask for predictions of future growth and needs of the business. It is the mission of the school system to prepare students to become productive citizens. Students take different paths after high school Some go to college, some the military, and others go directly to work. Eventually, however, we hope all the students find a career for which they are suited. The school system needs to know what jobs will be available and what skills our graduates will need. Hopefully, more of our graduates will live and work in Transylvania County. I would like to encourage the community to complete the survey so that the school system can gain this much needed information.
Mixed Signals
Public feedback is quite often mixed and occasionally very difficult for the school system to interpret. The issue of standardized tests is but one example. The Transylvania County School system has for some time been a leader in North Carolina with regard to student performance on state mandated testing. One of the key reasons for this performance is the student accountability policy that has been in place since 1995. Occasionally, I have meetings with groups and parents who question the emphasis that is placed on student performance by way of standardized testing. On several occasions, parents and students have attended school board meetings and addressed this issue. During the debate last spring on the school calendar, this issue surfaced at numerous meetings. As a superintendent, I often wonder how widespread concerns are and how different public opinion is on this topic.
On a national perspective, the Gallup Poll and Public Agenda have conducted polling to gauge public opinion on these issues. The following were results from this polling.
Over 83% of parents feel that standardized tests provide very important information.
Over 90% of parents want comparative data about their children and the schools they attend. Nearly 70% of parents want standardized test results every year.
Nearly 90% of parents pay attention to published rankings and test performance of schools.
Over 70% of the general public support requiring students to pass statewide tests before graduating from high schools.
Similar numbers (76%) support test requirements for pupils to pass from 4th to 5th grade.
Only one person in ten feels that there is too much standardized testing in schools.
Similar polling has been done with regard to homework, attendance, and school calendar issues. The Transylvania County School system is working diligently to gather stakeholder feedback. My promise to the community is that the school system will analyze the feedback and then encourage the school board to make decisions that are in the best interest of students and meet as many stakeholder requirements as possible. Participation in surveys, focus groups, and letting school board members know of your concerns are but a few ways that this feedback is gathered. Don’t be left out - participate. After all - Teaching everyone, takes everyone!!!!