Forsyth County School District Qualitative Data Analysis Prepared by Holly Schmidt-Davis September 17, 2016

Survey and Analysis Total of 7,373 respondents Of those, 36% (2,666) wrote text responses to at least one question Responses analyzed across questions to capture common themes Note: All reported percentages on the following pages are based on the 2,666 respondents who wrote text responses.

Overcrowding and Growth 10% of the 2,666 respondents reported concern over crowded classrooms and schools due to recent growth in Forsyth County

Overcrowding and Growth (cont.) “Our schools have too many students...we need to build more schools (high, middle & elementary) to support the irresponsible growth that Forsyth County has allowed. 4 to a seat on school buses and shoulder- to-shoulder crowds in the hallways between classes is unacceptable.” “Work with board of commissioners to address overcrowding. Resources will become strained lowering the quality of our outstanding schools.” “Please plan towards managing the increased population. I STRONGLY believe overcrowding leads to less focused studies.”

Teacher Retention 5% of the 2,666 respondents mentioned high teacher turnover rates, with teachers changing schools within the district and leaving the district

Teacher Retention (cont.) “I think they struggle with retaining good teachers due to the sheer volume of work that is expected of a teacher in this district to accomplish.” “The county appears to do a great job of hiring and developing teachers. Retaining them seems to be a challenge as the increased demands on teachers does not seem commensurate with compensation and benefits.” “Why don't you look at retention rates for the past few years. Just because a teacher may stay with the county there is far too much movement from school to school and/or grade to grade.”

Support for the Arts 4% of the 2,666 respondents mentioned improving support for visual arts, music, and theater programming, including additional facilities for these activities

Support for the Arts (cont.) “The Arts facilities are not adequate for the number of students we have involved in the programs.” “Our schools need more art and music (once every 8 days is ridiculous).” “Definite imbalance between opportunities for the arts vs athletics. Athletics is given much more attention.”

Foreign Language Education 4% of the 2,666 respondents wanted improvements foreign language education, with 44% of these suggesting that foreign language study should begin in elementary school

Foreign Language Education (cont.) “I feel we need to offer foreign language at the Elem level. Ivy league schools require fluency in 2 different foreign languages at the graduate level. Forsyth students need to be prepared to meet that challenge.” “I would love to see a foreign languages taught in elementary schools. The best time to learn languages is when they are young.” “Would like to see Lanuguages (sic) offered earlier and with more options (e.g. Mandarin).”

Counseling Services 3% of the 2,666 respondents expressed discontent with counseling and mental health services

Counseling Services (cont.) “Counselors are understaffed. We need more.” “I believe the counselors may be spread too thinly. They are not able to be truly present and available for the children.” “The counselors are overwhelmed with the amount of students they have.”

Technology 3% of the 2,666 respondents suggested that teachers and students need better access to technology and that “bring your own technology” policies are inadequate

Technology (cont.) “Students need devices that are capable of handling the applets, websites, and rich online content that would make my classroom more dynamic. Most HS students only bring a smartphone to school, which is insufficient for many things I would have them do online. BYOT is not sufficient for the kind of personalization the county is heading toward.” “If classes require devices (i.e., personalized learning, flipped classes, etc.), then the school system MUST provide the devices - no excuses.”

Technology (cont.) “Our tech infrastructure seems lacking and our ITS folks are overloaded…A misconception that seems to be perpetuated is that, because students have cell phones, they have access to "technology". I believe that meaningful online engagement in the classroom would be far more commonplace with greater access to collections of portable, reliable, and semi-robust devices.”

Strategic Planning Priorities Develop a clear plan to address ongoing growth in Forsyth with an emphasis on managing overcrowding and class sizes and communicate this plan clearly to stakeholders. Analyze patterns of teacher retention across the district and investigate issues of workload and competitive compensation. Research ways to increase funding for visual arts, music, and theater programming.

Strategic Planning Priorities (cont.) Consider providing students with foreign language instruction beginning at the elementary school level. Study pathways to add more counselors to schools. Evaluate current hardware, software, connectivity, and infrastructure to determine most important areas for improvement.