For Immediate Release
February 28, 2013
School District Earns High Grades On Community Survey
Allen ISD parents and students believe that the school district is providing a high quality education, according to an online climate survey conducted by the district in December.
The district-level climate survey asked parents, secondary students and staff members to evaluate the school district in a number of categories including the quality of education, academic preparation, student support, school leadership, safety and school operations.
Based on the survey results of over 7,500 respondents, a large majority of parents (88%), staff (96%) and students (84%) rated the overall quality of education in Allen ISD with an “A” or “B” grade.
Academic Preparation
Ninety percent of the parents responding said their child is being prepared to be successful in the next grade and 98% indicated that adults are available to help students with school problems.
Student responses to academic questions showed that 90% felt that teachers told them how to successful in school. Eighty-six percent said they must work hard to make good grades while 70% said they were challenged by work at school. A total of 80% of students in grades 7-12 also said that in-class tests and quizzes at school are fair.
School Leadership
Confidence in school leadership was strong with 75% of parents representing grades K-12 felt the principal makes decisions that are in the best interest of students. That number rose to 94% among Allen ISD staff members. A majority of parents also reported that school leadership was available (80%), courteous (78%) and responded in a professional manner (76%).
Safety and Behavior
Regarding safety and behavior, a majority of parents from grades K-12 felt their child was safe at school (93%), that discipline was enforced fairly (74%) and that teachers and students respect one another (83%). Parents also felt that students do not threaten or bully each other at their child’s school (71%), that alcohol and drugs are not a problem at the school (84%) and that the school is free of weapons (96%).
Results from parents of secondary students were lower on the same questions regarding bullying (59%), alcohol and drug use (50%) and weapons (89%).
Overall student responses showed that 83% felt safe at school, 70% felt discipline was fairly enforced, 36% said students do not threaten or bully at their school and 60% said students do not use alcohol and drugs at their school.
Overall, students felt that schools were free of weapons (78%), students respect teachers at the school (59%) and most students are friendly to each other at the school (64%).
In comparison, staff members said that they felt safe at school (99%), students were safe at school (99%), discipline is enforced fairly (88%), students are not threatened or bullied (68%), alcohol or drugs is not a problem (77%), schools are weapon free (91%), students respect teachers (91%) and teachers have the support to maintain order and discipline in their school (94%).
School Operations
Questions about school operations generally received high marks. Parents felt their child had access to computers and the Internet at school (94%), their child gets enough to eat at school (79%) and healthy food is served in the cafeteria (67%). They also felt the school lunch prices were fair (76%), their child’s school was clean (95%) and their child’s school is well maintained (94%).
Staff members said their school was kept clean (87%), it was well maintained (88%) and they had the materials necessary to effectively teach their classes (89%).
Students indicated that they had access to computers at school (90%), they had fresh and high quality food served (43%), their school as clean (71%) and well maintained (74%).
Participation in the survey included 2,689 parents, 3,239 students in grades 7-12 and 1,488 staff members.
“Overall, the survey results demonstrate that parents and students feel that Allen ISD is delivering a high quality education in a safe and well maintained environment,” explained Dr. Ken Helvey, superintendent of schools. “It is something that our staff works towards every day and we appreciate the vote of confidence from our parents and students.”
While the survey reflected many positive attitudes about the school district, Dr. Helvey indicated several areas that will need additional research and possible action.
“The results showed that students and parents feel bullying is a problem in our schools. While it is a difficult student behavior to measure or completely control, we need to look at ways we can minimize the problem. With a large majority of students saying they feel safe in schools, we would like more information on what bullying behavior students are identifying before we take action.”
Helvey also explained that the district would like to hear from more high school students on future surveys. Student participation was voluntary for grades 9-12 but a majority of students in grades 7-8 completed the survey. As a result, a majority of the student responses came from the middle schools.
A detailed summary of results from the 2012 District-Level Climate Survey is available online at http://www.allenisd.org/surveys.