School Poll - ONLINE

Packet Contents

General Instructions (Important Information)

Administration of Student Online Survey

Administration of Teacher/Staff Online Survey

Administration of Parent Online Survey/Paper Survey

Instructions to Students

Instructions for Teachers/Staff

Instructions for Parents

Common Questions About the Study

1

Administration of Elementary Student Online Surveys

Population to be Surveyed: / All elementary students in grades 3-5.
Administration Dates: / The student online survey window is April 25th to May 6th. It is suggested that the survey be administered to students on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and not before or after a major school event. The website (URL) for the survey and the password will be provided by the school principal (to all teachers that are moderating the student survey) before the survey window begins. All surveys must be completed by 4PM on the dates scheduled. It is suggested that each school creates a schedule in the computer lab to ensure that all grades 3-5 students complete the online survey within the survey window.
Administration Time: / Total administration time is 25 minutes. Actual working time is expected to be between 15 minutes although there are no specific time limits.
Administrative Process: / It is recommended that the survey be given in an extended homeroom period or computer lab or other scheduling arrangement that can provide the needed time and computer access.
The URL and password for entering the survey should remain confidential until preliminary directions are read to the students and they are prepared to move directly forward.
Explain to students the importance of being completely honest; this is an opportunity to help improve the school.
Before they are given the URL and password, students should be directed to listen very carefully and not move ahead until directed to do so.
The directions for completing this survey are indicated in each section of the survey. Students should read each question and then select their responses.
If a question does not apply, leave the answer blank. If a student is not sure about an answer, leave the answer blank.
If for any reason a student needs help selecting their school from the list, the proctor should provide that assistance.
When finished, each student should be directed to another activity such as completing other assignments or reading a book.

Administration of Secondary Student OnlineQuestionnaires

Population to be surveyed: / All students in grades 7-12.
Administration Dates: / The student online survey window is April 25th to May 6th. It is suggested that the questionnaire be administered to students on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and not before or after a major school event. The website (URL) for the survey and the password will be provided by the school principal (to all teachers that are moderating the student survey) before the survey window begins. All surveys must be completed by 4PM on the dates scheduled.
Administration Time: / Total administration time is 35 minutes. Actual working time is expected to be between 20-25 minutes although there are no specific time limits.
Administrative Process: / It is recommended that the survey be given in an extended homeroom period or computer lab or other scheduling arrangement that can provide the needed time and computer access.
The URL and password for entering the survey should remain confidential until preliminary directions are read to the students and they are prepared to move directly forward.
Explain to students the importance of being completely honest; this is an opportunity to help improve the school.
Before they are given the URL and password, students should be directed to listen very carefully and not move ahead until directed to do so.
The directions for completing this survey are indicated in each section of the survey. Students should read each question and then select their responses.
If a question does not apply, leave the answer blank. If a student is not sure about an answer, leave the answer blank.
If for any reason a student needs help selecting their school from the list, the proctor should provide that assistance.
When finished, each student should be directed to another activity.

Administration of Teachers/Building Staff Online Surveys

Population to be surveyed: / All building level teachers and support staff (certificated and classified classroom aides and secretaries) in the district. Note: This survey is not designed to be administered to support services employees (bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, etc.). There will be a separate survey for support staff employees.
Administration Dates: / April 15th ½ day- school improvement afternoon. All attempts should be made to schedule the administration of the teachers/staff survey on this day. Building principals need to allocate 30 minutes on this day for staff to take the survey (they may take the survey at their own computer or in the computer lab). Please encourage 100% participation and ensure staff that the survey results are completely confidential. Teachers will receive an email message directly from Harris and will complete the survey on the Harris web site. The District does not have access to any individual responses.
Administration Time: / Total administration time is 20 minutes. There are no specific time limits.
Administrative Process: / Teachers and staff will each receive a direct invitation (with a unique id) to the survey through their own email address. Please see additional tips for surveying online (page 9).
If a question does not apply, leave the answer blank. If staff is not sure about an answer, leave the answer blank.

Administration of Parent PaperQuestionnaire

Population to be surveyed: / All school district parents/guardians who have children attending grades K-12. The District will send one questionnaire per household. Parents will be surveyed by paper
Administration Dates: / Administration of the parent survey will be from April 25th to May 6th.
Administrative Process: / School district is responsible for the distribution of the parent questionnaires. School district is responsible for printing of cover letter, parent code sheet, approved additional questions (optional), outgoing and business reply envelopes, and postage.
School district willmail parent questionnaire rather than distributing via students.
The mailing will contain the questionnaire, a cover letter from the Superintendent, a school code sheet, additional questions (optional) and a postage paid business reply envelope. Harris Interactive will supply the original school code sheet and additional questions sheet (as applicable).
School district is responsible for producing the cover letter from Superintendent explaining the importance of parental participation. Sample cover letter will be provided by Harris Interactive.
Note depending on population to be surveyed: Since the District is sending one survey per household, parent must select one (1) child to discuss in the questionnaire. The most reliably “random” method of selection is to complete questionnaire for the child whose birthday is the earliest in the calendar year (closest to January). This instruction will be included in the cover letter from the Superintendent.
In a situation where parents do not live in the same household within the district, they will each receive a separate questionnaire.
Parents may return questionnaires to the school district. The school district is not to open the returned parent questionnaires. Parents also have the option of mailing the completed survey directly to Harris Interactive.

Instructions to Students

Online Survey

Students will access the survey online, in class, by typing in a URL and entering a password (to be communicated by Harris to the district in advance of survey date/s). The website (URL) for the survey and the password will be provided by the school principal (to all teachers that are moderating the student survey) before the survey window begins. All students will access the survey the same way. Taking the survey in Spanish or English will be an initial option, and the appropriate survey version (Elementary/Secondary) will display on screen as a result of programming.

Harris Interactive will communicate the following information to the District coordinator…The District coordinator will then distribute the information to each building principal…This information will be essential for successfully surveying your students online….

Directions for teachers:

  • Your students will have access to the online survey between April 25and May 6.
  • Surveys must be administered (and completed) between the hours of 8AM and 4PM.
  • The URL and PASSWORD for your students will be provided by the school principal (to all teachers that are moderating the student survey) before the survey window begins.

Please keep the URL and password confidential until time for disclosure when the survey is actually administered.

Instructions to Teachers/Staff

Online Survey

Teachers and Staff will receive an invitation to the survey directly in their email on April 15th.

Here are some suggestions, tips, and additional information that may be helpful to you and your staff:

  1. Each invitation should include two clearly labeled links. One for the actual survey and one for comments and concerns.
  2. Survey links cannot be forwarded to multiple participants. Each link to the survey can be used only once.
  3. Tips for successfully accessing and maneuvering through the questionnaire:
  • Make sure your email box is below capacity. If it is too full, you will not be able to receive the invitation/survey.
  • If you click on the survey link (in your email invitation) and it does not seem to work, try copying and pasting it into your browser.
  • Use only the "next" and "back" buttons in the survey itself. DO NOT use the forward and back buttons in your browser.
  • If you need to leave the survey and finish it later, exit by clicking the "resume later" button in the survey. DO NOT "X" out via your browser.
  • If you exit the survey you will not be able to get back in to the survey for at least 60 minutes.
  1. If these tips do not work ordo not apply to your situation, go back to your email invitation and click on the link for comments and concerns. Explain exactly what is happening and you will be contacted directly for resolution.
  2. "Reminder" invitations will be sent to those who do not complete the survey within days of original invite. (These invitations will include a fresh link to the survey).
  3. Please remember, you have until the end of the day on April 15th to complete the online survey.

If difficulties persist, please feel free to contact me (Michelle Gosney) at 585-214-7352 or . Thank you for your participation!

Common Questions About the Study

Q. How should we handle students who are absent the day that the questionnaire is administered?

A. These students will not be included in the sample. It will be difficult to spend the time tracking down every student who misses the initial fielding.

Q. What about children who are in Special Education; how will the questionnaire be administered to these students?

A. All children should be included where appropriate. While teachers can assist with the reading of the questionnaire, he or she may not interpret the questions for the students. All attempts should be made to include the opinions of these students. Modifications as stated in current IEP should be available.

Q. How long does the student questionnaire take to complete?

A. The student questionnaire requires 20-25 minutes to complete. Approximately 35 minutes should be allowed for the teacher to read the instructions and to provide ample opportunity for students of varied reading levels to complete the study.

Q. How is confidentiality ensured?

A. Surveys that are completed do not relate to the individual who completes the survey, but are compiled with other surveys from each individual school. Data is analyzed at the school building level and at the district level.

Q. Why should I complete this questionnaire?

A. Students, teachers, staff, and parents, as stakeholders, all play an important role in evaluating the quality of education in the school district. Your experiences in your school building are invaluable pieces of information. By completing this questionnaire, you are providing your opinions about what has the greatest influence on satisfaction in your school. Your opinions can help the school district develop a strategic plan to improve satisfaction as well as the services it provides to stakeholders.

Q. How can we achieve a high response rate?

A. Open communication between all stakeholders appears to be the key ingredient to a successful response to the survey. Within the school building, students, teachers, and staff should all have a clear understanding of why they are completing this survey. Communication with parents via local newspapers, school newsletters or bulletins, and through parent organizations will result in a higher rate of participation on the part of parents. Holding a Survey Day in the school district focuses all stakeholders on the importance of this data collection procedure.

Q. What is the typical parent response rate?

A. There is typically a response rate from parents between 20-60%. It varies between districts and most often, depends on the awareness of the parents that the surveys are coming and are part of an effort for continuous improvement. We suggest allowing two weeks for parents to return their completed questionnaires.

Q. What grade level is appropriate for students to take the secondary survey?

A. Students who change classes/teachers for their core subject areas should take the secondary survey. Typically 6-12 grade students take the secondary survey.

Q. Which district employees can take the teachers/staff survey?

A. The teachers/staff questionnaire was designed for building level employees to complete. Many of the questions in the survey pertain directly to experiences in a specific building, such as building atmosphere, and equipment and facilities. Non building-based employees, such as bus drivers and central office personnel, may complete the survey, as long as there is a clear understanding that some of the questions are not applicable to their jobs.

Q. If the district decides to use the option of asking up to ten additional questions, where should the responses be recorded?

A. On paper surveys, there is a box marked “Optional” on the last page. This is where answers to any additional questions must be recorded in order to process the results of these questions. For online surveys, additional questions will be programmed as part of the survey, capturing the responses automatically.

1