Higher ed — The district saw gains in most areas with parents through school survey

Newberg is in the second year of using the National Center for School Leadership’s school culture and climate survey and was pleased by the increase in both participation by parents and in their approval of how the district is performing in several areas.

At the same time, Kym LeBlanc-Esparza just finished her third year as superintendent and was not thrown by the fact that the staff responded less favorably than in 2014.

“If you look at the amount of change and things we’re asking people to do differently, it’s not surprising,” she said. But I appreciate the fact that when you look at what our community is telling us, they’re seeing us do better work around a number of things.”

District communications director Claudia Stewart was pleased to report to the board at its June 23 meeting that participation in the survey from parents rose 60 percent from 514 to 827, but noted that a large majority (65 percent) of respondents were elementary school parents, which certainly had an impact on the overall district numbers.

Staff participation also rose 12.6 percent, bringing district-wide participation up to approximately 70 percent of teachers.

“We consider this an internal working document, data,” Stewart said when presenting the information to the school board at its June 23 meeting. “(LeBlanc-Esparza) described how principals in the ELC spent time pouring over their data last Tuesday. It’s not an accountability piece. We don’t release it publicly, as if to say, ‘Look! Here’s how we did.’ It’s really a tool to help develop strategies for improvement.”

The percentage of parents responding favorably to survey questions rose in nine of 10 categories from 2014 to 2015, especially on the topic of homework. Other areas also made progress towards matching national averages.

The lone area to see regression was in “monitoring progress,” which district staff chalked up to the fact it doesn’t offer continual updates at the elementary school level, mostly because it isn’t applicable for grades K-3.

Staff ratings fell from last year in most categories, but in the district, which can submit a limited number of questions tailored specifically to Newberg, LeBlanc-Esparza said she was glad to see that the results of its inquiry into what areas of professional development the staff wanted aligned well with the district’s strategic plan. Specifically, the six responses that teachers prioritized most all involved the 5 C’s of 21st century learning — Critical thinking and problem solving, creative thinking, communication skills, collaboration and global citizenship.

“This confirms that our teachers see this as important,” LeBlanc-Esparza said. “We’ve conveyed a message that this kind of teaching and learning is important. They see it, they believe that it is because they want professional development in it to improve their craft.”

written by: Seth Gordon