Survey Says….

Summer is in full swing, and so is the planning for next school year in Saline Area Schools. I want to share some of the information that’s guiding our work.

This spring, we asked students, parents, and employees for feedback on the quality of SAS schools. We knew from previous surveys that much of our community views our schools positively, and we were pleased to see those trends continue. However, this year’s survey results also highlighted important opportunities. 

Of the more than 2,300 people who took our survey (Thank You!), 97 percent of parents and 96 percent of staff members rated their school as excellent or good, both increases from last year’s survey. Similarly, 84 percent of participating students rated their school as excellent or good. While still a strong positive response, that is a 6 percentage-point decrease from last year.

The survey results revealed disconnects between what our students think and what our staff members think. For example, only 33 percent of participating students said teachers successfully connect classroom lessons with life outside of school, while 82 percent of participating staff members said they do.

An overwhelming majority of all participants said their school is safe, but there was less agreement about discipline. Parents and students (65% and 60%, respectively) were much less likely than staff (81%) to think discipline is enforced fairly.

Parents and students continue to have overwhelmingly positive views about our school technology and the resources and materials available to students. We also saw significant increases from last year in how positively staff members view some district operations, such as central office support of schools (76% to 89%) and availability of technology resources (80% to 92%).

Thank you to everyone who took the time to share feedback and opinions with us. You’re helping us make our district a place where all staff members feel supported, all parents know they are heard, and all students are inspired to achieve beyond what they can dream.