In the fall of 2017, Sunnyvale School District reached out to their community of staff members, families and students to start a conversation about the district’s goals. They were invited to share their thoughts over a two week period between Oct. 3 and Oct. 19 via an online survey. Then, whether they added thoughts or not, everyone had the opportunity to reflect on the thoughts of others by adding stars to those that most reflected their priorities. Now everyone is able to discover what is most important to the group!
The three questions that were included in the exchange were:
- What are some concerns you have about our school this year?
- What are some things you appreciate about our school this year?
- What other questions do you have about our school this year?
About 632 adults districtwide participated in the survey including staff and families. They contributed 1,126 thoughts and assigned 9,088 stars to those thoughts they most liked or agreed with.
About 822 students districtwide participated, contributing 2,797 thoughts and assigning 31,793 stars.
Key things that the Sunnyvale School District community said they appreciate our teachers and staff, extracurricular and experiential learning, and parent involvement. Participants expressed how they appreciate that staff knows so many of the students by name, making for a caring community. Families appreciated the variety of options for extracurricular activities such as gardening, clay, sports and other creative academic approaches.
Some areas that were identified as needing some improvement included consistency in instruction and resources across schools and grade levels, decreasing parent involvement and a more streamlined approach to sharing communication.
“The feedback received is invaluable and appreciated and our promise is that we will use this information to guide our work in the coming year,” said Superintendent Benjamin Picard. “Thank you for participating and for your continued support of Sunnyvale School District.”
To see the full results go to the dedicated Thoughtexchange website at http://sesd.thoughtexchange.com/card-welcome/welcome/.
