Survey Coordinator Instructions
School Climate Survey • Safe School Ambassadors®
This School Climate Survey can help you:
- assess the need for the Safe School Ambassadors program and other efforts to strengthen and/or improve the social climate of your school. This requires only one administration of the survey.
- assess the effects of your Safe School Ambassadors on your school’s social climate. This requires that a first or “baseline” survey be given before the Initial SSA Training, and that a second survey be given at least 6 months after the Initial training, but ideally not any later than 2 weeks prior to the close of the school year. To assess effects over several years, the survey can be given one year after the second administration.
The reading level of this survey is approximately fourth grade and above.
Prepare for Survey Administration - Advance Planning is Key!
· Secure Support: Buy-in from superintendents, principals, teachers, and partnering organizations will help to ensure a successful school-wide survey effort. Gaining this support may require meeting with school personnel, parent leaders, and community representatives to explain the purpose/benefits of conducting the survey. It may require making presentations at Board and staff meetings.
· Choose a Sampling Method:
-Full census: All students complete the survey (for up to 500 students). This method is preferred and is often easier on the survey coordinators and administrators. To obtain a full census, schools sometimes hold school assemblies, select one class period during the day, or select classrooms throughout the day to administer the survey.
-Partial census: Some students complete the survey. If it is not practical for you to survey every student (or you have more than 500 students), but you want to be able to generalize from the results of your sample to the entire school, then some form of random sampling is necessary (i.e. each student has an equal chance of being selected to complete the survey). If you must do a partial census, we recommend using a modified cluster sampling. See Procedure For Using the Modified Cluster Sampling Method that follows.
· Select a survey date:
- Choose a date early. Get it on everyone’s calendar with plenty of notice. Remember that the date may have to be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances at the schools.
- When setting this date, remember that scheduling a survey right before or after school breaks and special events could potentially affect how your data look. Prior to a holiday or break, students are restless and may have a more difficult time focusing on survey questions.
- All students should be surveyed on the same day, preferably at the same time. If surveys are administered over several days, students can talk to each other about the survey and potentially influence each other’s responses. Also, events at school may affect how students respond.
· Survey length: Plan for enough class time to complete the entire survey. The School Climate Survey takes about 30 minutes to complete; however, students’ reading levels vary between and among grades. The key is to begin on time.
· Consent Forms: Be sure to distribute consent forms well in advance, especially if your school and/or district requires active consent. It would not be too early to distribute and collect these forms at the beginning of the school year. Follow up may be necessary if active consent is used. See below for a discussion of Active vs Passive Consent.
· Survey Procedures: Meet with survey administrator(s) – the people who will actually give the surveys to the students and read them the instructions – to review the survey administration process at least one week prior to the survey date.
· Make copies of the Climate Survey (one per student, plus 1-2 extras, in each Selected Class). Check to be sure all pages copied correctly. Place surveys for each Selected Class in a large envelope. To ensure that their surveys remain anonymous, students will put their completed surveys directly in the large envelope.
· On the Survey Administrator Instructions page, and on the Survey Summary, write in the name of the person to whom Surveys should be returned and any other instructions for returning them. Then make copies of the Administrator Instructions, Student Instructions, and Summary (one of each for each class). Staple these together.
· Distribute Surveys (in envelope) and Instructions to the teachers of the Selected Classes.
· Contact those teachers personally (with a visit, call, or email) to make sure they have received the Survey, understand its importance, understand the instructions, and will administer it as planned.
· Collect completed Surveys.
· Tally completed Surveys. There are several options for doing this:
o Work with Transforming Local Communities (TLC) for tabulation and analysis of your surveys. TLC is a professional evaluation firm working in partnership with Community Matters to support the Safe School Ambassadors program. TLC would provide you with a summary report that includes numerical data, analysis, and recommendations. There is an additional charge for this option. If you are interested, please contact Community Matters for TLC’s contact information; you’ll need to have your survey administration and sampling plan approved by TLC prior to administering your surveys.
o Work with a nearby college or university that has students looking for projects and faculty willing to supervise.
o Enter the results into Excel spreadsheets and obtain your own totals. The entry could be done by a parent, older (i.e. high school or college) student, intern, or other volunteer. Be sure to set up the files and train this person (e.g. how to handle items that were skipped) so your data is accurate and your results have meaning.
Procedure For Using the Modified Cluster Sampling Method
If a modified cluster sampling method will be used to determine which students will be surveyed, please conduct the survey as follows, or as closely as possible. To be valid and helpful, the Minimum Number of students surveyed should be the greater of 25% of your school population or 150 students.
1) Generate a list of all the classes at your school in which there are a mix of students who have been at the school at least 6 months (e.g. at HS: sophomores, juniors, and seniors). It is OK to include on the list classes that have a couple of freshmen, but not a significant number.
If the total enrollment of these mixed classes is less than the Minimum Number (150 or 25% of your total school population), please randomly select an appropriate number (1-5) of additional classes of sophomores, an equal number of classes of juniors, and an equal number of classes of seniors. These classes are hereafter called Qualifying Classes.
2) Determine which period of your school day offers the greatest number of Qualifying Classes. This will be the Survey Period. If it would be problematic to administer the Survey in more than 5% of those classes (e.g. teachers would object), you may choose a different Survey Period.
3) List the Qualifying Classes that are offered during the Survey Period, and Number them, beginning with the number 1.
4) Using the following table of random numbers (or the random number generator on the Internet), randomly choose Qualifying Classes. Keep a running total of the number of students in each class; once your total exceeds 500 students, choose two more classes, and then stop. These two classes ensure that you will get at least 500 completed and legible surveys back. These are your Selected Classes.
If you have questions or need assistance, please call 707-823-6159 or email:
Random Number Generators on the Internet
This particular one is VERY easy to use; you simply click on the link to their “Sequence Generator” (because we don’t want duplicate numbers) and type in the highest number on your list of classes. Then press the “Get Sequence” button and you’ll have the numbers you need.
http://www.random.org/nform.html
Table of Random Numbers
This table is a random sequence (i.e. no duplicates) from 1 – 200. Read across each row (i.e. the first class you’d choose would be #183 on your list of classes. The next would be #193. Etc.). If you get to a number that is higher than you have on your list of classes, skip it. If you have MORE THAN 200 qualifying classes on your list, you MUST use the random number generator above; if you don’t, the students in the classes numbered 201 and higher on your list have no chance to participate in the survey.
183 / 193 / 61 / 187 / 52 / 80 / 147 / 150 / 11 / 169 / 101 / 158 / 120 / 153 / 197189 / 48 / 117 / 42 / 121 / 139 / 16 / 20 / 196 / 91 / 184 / 78 / 105 / 53 / 35
124 / 131 / 57 / 143 / 199 / 129 / 28 / 122 / 198 / 152 / 54 / 128 / 172 / 37 / 145
191 / 171 / 38 / 132 / 74 / 73 / 5 / 123 / 165 / 7 / 23 / 200 / 17 / 149 / 86
44 / 173 / 168 / 67 / 15 / 21 / 176 / 70 / 14 / 95 / 111 / 89 / 43 / 130 / 4
194 / 68 / 77 / 49 / 141 / 75 / 33 / 79 / 114 / 98 / 62 / 192 / 174 / 59 / 148
107 / 125 / 178 / 22 / 182 / 93 / 109 / 65 / 119 / 71 / 66 / 103 / 47 / 36 / 50
151 / 8 / 108 / 3 / 56 / 81 / 19 / 133 / 144 / 164 / 76 / 45 / 26 / 167 / 179
110 / 25 / 72 / 166 / 32 / 185 / 85 / 137 / 126 / 106 / 51 / 115 / 134 / 140 / 188
104 / 146 / 157 / 83 / 90 / 195 / 162 / 64 / 186 / 177 / 34 / 155 / 100 / 30 / 39
113 / 60 / 135 / 96 / 97 / 116 / 63 / 40 / 161 / 136 / 92 / 159 / 138 / 31 / 170
27 / 82 / 29 / 55 / 1 / 180 / 99 / 46 / 24 / 87 / 9 / 160 / 41 / 2 / 94
102 / 142 / 10 / 118 / 13 / 175 / 6 / 69 / 58 / 156 / 190 / 181 / 127 / 12 / 84
112 / 18 / 154 / 163 / 88
Active versus Passive Consent
Active consent: Parents must provide written permission for child to participate
Passive consent: Parents are informed of the survey and are asked to return the signed form only if they decline permission.
Schools will differ on whether they require active or passive written parental permission, depending on how they interpret the law. The law states that students cannot be required to complete a survey of this nature without written permission from the parent. Since students are not required to complete this survey, it is appropriate to use passive consent procedures. However, some schools do not agree with this interpretation of the law.
Passive consent is easier on the school, survey administrators, students, and parents. In addition, since some students will neglect to provide the form to parents or return the signed form, active consent influences the data. The data may indicate a lower incidence of bullying behaviors because the students from homes that perpetuate such behaviors may be less likely to gain active consent and therefore not complete the survey. Overall, Community Matters advocates for passive consent to improve data integrity and convenience.
MEMO
DATE:
TO: Selected Staff Members
FROM:
RE: School Climate Survey
Dear
As you may know, our school is working hard to build a positive climate, reduce mistreatment, and prevent violence at our school. We are conducting a School Climate Survey to assess certain aspects of the social climate at our school (e,g, how students feel at school, how well people get along). This survey will help us assess our needs and measure the results of our efforts.
In compliance with survey protocols, certain classes at our school have been selected, and your class was one of them. Students in your class are to be given the opportunity to complete the climate survey. The survey will take roughly 20-30 minutes.
The survey will be given on:
Date:
Period/Time:
We know you work hard to teach your subject matter, and we know this survey takes time away from that teaching. Yet, we are all affected by the cruelty and violence that occurs daily on this campus, and the survey is part of our overall strategy to reduce that cruelty and violence. So, we respectfully ask for your support of this process.
Please read the following pages – Administrator Instructions and Student Instructions – and prepare to give the survey in the class specified above. Those pages also explain what to do with the surveys once students have completed them.
If you have any questions about the survey or giving it to your students, please contact me via
Thank you for helping to make our school a positive learning community.
Survey Administrator Instructions
School Climate Survey
Preparation:
· Prepare instructions or an exercise for students after they finish the survey.
· Bring copies of the survey. Double-check to make sure the surveys are “clean,” that is, text has not been cut off by the copy machine nor has a page missing. They are 4 pages long.
· Bring a few extra pencils / pens
· People are more likely to be honest if they believe no one will know how they answered. Prepare the administration room(s) to ensure that the space will provide students with adequate privacy. If you are administering the survey in an auditorium and space allows, ask students to keep an empty seat between themselves and other students.
Administering the survey:
· Explain the purpose of the survey (e.g. “…so others can know how YOU feel here at school, and we can make it a place where people get along better…”). Avoid using the word “test”.