Date: Fri 13-Feb-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

schools-Gordon-Black-survey

Full Text:

Survey Shows "Customers" Are Satisfied With Newtown's Schools System

(with cuts)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

Parents and students of Newtown gave high ratings to the town's public school

system in a survey conducted in the fall of 1997.

The recently released customer satisfaction report also identified areas for

further improvement.

Robert Kuklis, assistant superintendent of schools, released a statement

asserting "the results of the Gordon S. Black survey, conducted during the

week of October 20 to 24, 1997, reveal strong overall satisfaction with the

Newtown Public Schools.

"The district asked all students from grades 4 through 12, all parents of

children in the school district, and all teachers and other staff to complete

the survey.

"95 percent of elementary school children, 94 percent of secondary students,

80 percent of teachers and other building staff, and 31 percent of parents did

this..."

The good news in the survey, known as the Gordon Black Report, came in the

form of ratings (0 to 10):

Elementary students gave high ratings to their main teacher (8.8 out of 10)

and school atmosphere (8.2).

Secondary students are most satisfied with their school counselor (8.3), their

principal (7.7) and the quality of teaching (7.7).

Teachers are most satisfied with other staff (8.2) and their students (7.5).

Staff are most satisfied with their direct supervisor (8.6) and other staff

(8.3).

Parents are most satisfied with the teachers (8.0) and the school bus (8.0)

transportation.

Satisfaction was highest in the earlier grades.

Elementary students rated their overall satisfaction as 8 on a scale of 10;

middle school, at 7.5; and high school at 6.9.

The results fit with an observation by Superintendent of Schools John Reed

that overall, students become increasingly critical consumers as they mature.

Parents followed the same trend. Parents of elementary students gave an

overall average rating of 8; middle school, 7; and high school, 6.9 out of 10.

Dr Kuklis said that compared to the 50 to 60 other districts surveyed by

Gordon Black, Newtown is above the norm in overall customer satisfaction.

Dr Kuklis said the report is a tool to help identify areas where "we can put

our energies."

"Improve customer satisfaction, and you are likely to improve the quality of

teaching and learning. We look for areas that will do both," Mr Kuklis said.

In some instances, a large percentage of people expressed dissatisfaction with

one area, but they remained happy with the school system overall.

For example, 37 percent of the students in elementary school reported that

their bathrooms were not clean. However, these people were just as happy with

the school system overall as people who said the bathrooms were clean.

Other complaints strongly affected overall customer satisfaction.

For example, the 23 percent of parents who said that their children did not

receive enough individual attention from their teachers reported significantly

lower levels of customer satisfaction than parents who felt that their

children got the individual attention that they needed.

The Gordon Black team listed recommendations they think are likely to increase

overall customer satisfaction with the schools, starting with the suggestions

likely to have the biggest impact.

Elementary Students'

Recommendation

Consider additional methods for teachers to engage children in the classroom.

30 percent of the students said that their main teacher did not give

interesting homework.

4 percent of the students felt that their main teacher did not like them.

Although the number of students who felt their teacher did not like them was

small, these students were very dissatisfied.

Address the concern that school computers are not meeting students' needs.

24 percent of the students indicated that the school computers did not meet

their needs.

Determine how to keep the school buses cleaner.

37 percent of the students (42 percent of those who rode the bus) said that

their school bus was not clean.

Re-evaluate the quality and quantity of the food served in the lunch room.

32 percent of the students said that they did not like the food served in the

lunch room.

Other areas of concern were:

17 percent of the students said that they did not get extra help when they

needed it.

14 percent of the students noted that other students were not well-behaved

while in school.

13 percent of the students felt that rules at their school were not fair.

13 percent of the students reported that other than temperature, their

classrooms were not comfortable.

13 percent of the students reported that there was not enough seating in the

lunchroom.

Dr Kuklis said that each elementary school has a summary of results that are

pertinent to their own school, which will be considered when formulating

school improvement plans this spring.

Elementary Parents

Identify additional methods to enhance each child's educational opportunities

in the classroom.

23 percent of the elementary parents felt that their child did not receive

enough individual attention from teachers.

Review the required academic curriculum.

19 percent of the elementary parents said that the current required academic

curriculum needed improvement.

Continue to work with parents to meet the special needs of their children.

18 percent of the parents felt that there needed to be improvement in this

area.

Address the concern that the school board is not responding to the needs and

concerns of parents.

15 percent of the parents felt that the school board was not responsive to

parents who had expressed concerns about their children's education.

Other concerns raised were:

12 percent of the parents felt that the district needed to do a better job of

preparing students for taking standardized tests.

5 percent of the parents who said that their child needed the administration's

support were dissatisfied with the support their child received. Although the

number of people who reported this problem was small, these people experienced

strong overall dissatisfaction as a result.

6 percent of the parents of elementary students felt that teacher salaries

were too high for the work they did.

3 percent of the parents indicated that school buildings and grounds were not

clean and in good condition.

Middle School Students

The report recommends that to increase the satisfaction of middle school

students, the school system should concentrate on the following.

Examine the presentation of curriculum in the core subjects.

45 percent of the students said that their English teacher did not assign

interesting homework.

20 percent of the students reported that they did not like what was taught in

social studies class.

15 percent of the students said that they had a serious problem with their

foreign language teacher.

And 11 percent of the students felt that they did not learn enough in science

class.

Foster a positive relationship between the students and the principal.

10 percent of the students said that the principal didn't treat them with

respect. (Les Weintraub, principal of Newtown Middle School, commented that

this figure translates into 90 percent of the students saying that the

principal (and vice principals) did treat them with respect. This is

"incredibly high for a middle school setting.")

18 percent of the students felt that the principal did not handle student

discipline fairly.

Determine the level of support that students would like to receive from the

cafeteria staff.

42 percent of the students reported that the school cafeteria staff was not

helpful to them.

Address the concern that some students said that they felt like failures at

school.

37 percent of the students indicated that they have experienced feeling like a

failure at school.

Other concerns raised were:

24 percent of the middle school students said that their school did not do a

good job of preparing them for taking standardized tests.

13 percent of the students said that students did not currently help each

other with school work.

13 percent of students said that they did not feel safe while riding the bus.

19 percent of the students felt that there was not extra help available when

they needed it.

7 percent of the students in the middle school said that they did not

participate in class.

Middle School Parents

Middle school parents identified four main areas of concern. The Gordon Black

survey recommends the following as a result of survey analysis.

Identify additional methods of teaching in order to provide students with more

individual attention.

27 percent of the parents of middle school students felt that their child did

not receive enough individual attention from their teachers.

Address the concerns raised by parents regarding the role that the school

board is playing in managing negotiations with teachers and staff over

salaries.

27 percent of the parents said that the school board needed to improve in this

area. (The school board was actively negotiating with the Newtown Federation

of Teachers over salaries during the week this survey was done.)

Determine how the district can better prepare students for college.

24 percent of the parents of middle school students identified the preparation

of students for college as an opportunity for improvement.

Continue to work with parents to resolve problems brought to the

administration.

10 percent of the parents who said that their child needed the

administration's support indicated that they were not satisfied with the level

of support that their child received.

High School Students

To increase satisfaction with the high school students, the executive summary

of the report recommended that Newtown do the following.

Examine the presentation of curriculum in the core subject areas.

51 percent of the students said that their English teacher did not assign

interesting homework.

28 percent of the students reported that they did not learn a lot in math

class.

28 percent of the students indicated that their science teacher did not return

work and tests promptly.

18 percent of the students felt that their English teacher did not treat them

with respect.

11 percent of the students said that they had a serious problem with their

social studies teacher.

And 9 percent of the students felt their social studies teacher did not grade

fairly.

Review the school rules to be sure that students understand both the reason

for the rules and the application of the rules.

39 percent of the students at the high school felt that the rules at their

school were not fair.

25 percent of the students felt that the principal did not handle discipline

fairly.

Address concerns regarding overcrowding.

45 percent of the students reported that their school was too crowded. (In

October of 1997 when this survey was done, the high school was in the midst of

the major construction project.)

Determine how to counter students' feeling of failure at school.

45 percent of the students said that they had felt like a failure at school.

Other areas of concern mentioned by students were:

35 percent of the high school students (who completed this survey during

school renovations last October) indicated that the athletic facilities and

gym equipment did not meet their needs.

19 percent of the students felt that their counselor did not give good advice

about college.

33 percent of the students reported that they did not like the food served in

the lunch room.

25 percent of the students said school buildings and grounds were not clean

and in good condition.

15 percent of the students expressed concerns that the principal did not treat

students' conversations in a confidential manner.

13 percent of the students said that other students were not nice to them.

11 percent of the high school students said that they did not use a computer

outside of school.

8 percent of the high school students said that they did not feel safe while

they were in school.

High School Parents

To improve the satisfaction level of Newtown High School parents, the

following actions were recommended:

Focus on working with parents to meet the special needs of their children.

31 percent of the parents of high school students felt that the school

district could do a better job of working with them to meet the special needs

of their child.

Review the comfort level of the classrooms in the high school.

20 percent of the parents reported that their child's classrooms were not

comfortable. (In October, when this survey was completed, there was

construction going on in the school.)

Determine how the school board can develop additional means for maintaining

discipline in the schools.

27 percent of the parents felt that the school board could do better in

maintaining discipline in the schools.

Re-evaluate the quality and quantity of current competitive athletic

opportunities.

18 percent of the parents thought there should be more and better

opportunities for student athletes.

Other concerns:

18 percent of the parents reported that they had a serious problem with at

least one of their child's teachers.

10 percent of the parents of high school students felt that the school did not

provide a safe environment for their child.

Teachers and Staff

Teachers and staff raised concerns that affected their overall satisfaction

with the school system:

28 percent of the teachers and staff indicted that disorderly student behavior

was a problem in their school building.

19 percent of the employees (29 percent of teachers) felt that they were not

treated as professionals by the Newtown community.

13 percent of the teachers and staff felt that the current level of

communication with their principal was inadequate.

22 percent of the employees in the district said that the school buildings and

grounds were not clean and in good condition.

7 percent of the employees reported that their direct supervisor did not make

himself/herself available during the day.

Symptoms of Problems

The authors of the Gordon Black Survey stressed that their report identifies

symptoms of a problem, but not necessarily the root problem itself.

For example, "One district found that the root cause of elementary children

reporting that their main teacher did not give interesting homework was that

they had no clear understanding of the purpose behind many of the homework

assignments. This explanation is now part of the process."

Twenty-eight percent of high school students reported that they felt they were

not learning a lot in math. Yet Newtown students scored well above the state

average of 507, and the national average of 511, with their SAT scores of 540

in mathematics in 1997.

Dr Kuklis said that the customer satisfaction reports are one source of

information being considered by each school when preparing their school

improvement plans this spring.

This is the first time that the Newtown district has done the Gordon Black

survey, at a cost of $11,959.