New West Stakeholder Survey Results Dec. 2016 – Jan. 2017 WASC Accreditation

Stakeholder Survey – What is it? New West is applying for accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) this year. The application process requires schools to do a “self-study” that identifies their areas of strength and areas for growth. Part of the application is a “stakeholder” survey, a poll of all the students, parents, and faculty & staff. A “visiting team” of administrators, counselors, and teachers from other area schools will read our application and verify it’s authenticity.

Stakeholder Survey – Why do it? This survey was an attempt to: Measure how our stakeholders (students, parents, and the faculty & staff) see the self-study’s findings Invite all voices to be heard Gather additional input Inform the school’s plan for future improvement

Stakeholder Survey – Who responded? Student responses = 85 (mostly seniors) Parent responses = 72 (middle and high school) Faculty & staff responses = 45 (mostly teachers) 83% of students asked to see the results 89% of parents asked to see the results 95% of faculty & staff asked to see the results

Stakeholder Survey – What were the results? The following slides show the questions and the responses gathered. As you look at them, ask yourself: What did the stakeholders agree on? What did the stakeholders disagree on? What does that mean for New West going forward?

An option to write in other “areas of strength” accompanied this question. Responses were coded and counted. Common “other” response categories included:   Students Faculty and staff are helpful and supportive (30) Strong academic program that challenges students to learn (13) Small class sizes and individualized help from teachers (8) New West has a safe and diverse community (7) Parents Small and intimate environment (9) Outstanding staff (7) Small class sizes (6) Support for parents and students (5) Strong sense of student community (5) Faculty & Staff Sense of community and close teacher-student connections (10) Supportive and diverse staff (5) Non-conventional teaching and opportunities for all students (4)

An option to write in other “areas for growth” accompanied this question. Responses were coded and counted. Common “other” response categories included:   Students Wider range of classes offered to better prepare students for life after high school (15) Improving relations between different racial/ethnic groups for students (14) Keeping quality teachers at New West (10) Improving teacher-student relationships (6) Improving administrator-student relationships (5) Improving school spirit and sense of community (4) More extracurricular activities, such as theatre and athletics (4) Parents Lack of resources/facilities for students (9) Connecting with parents (6) Academic rigor (4) Inadequate teachers and/or teacher turnover Faculty & Staff Keeping more academically or athletically strong students for high school (5) Technology expansion (3) Consequences for dishonesty for students (2) More space (2) Support for new teachers (2)

Responses from all three stakeholder groups shown together.

Question: What other areas do you believe are critical to improving student learning? *Note: This was a short response item. Responses were coded and counted. Common answer categories and their totals are shown below.   Students Wider variety of instruction to meet the needs of learners (35) Maintaining high quality teachers (21) More or stricter discipline of students needed (6)    Parents Improving social environment (7) Maintaining high quality staff (5) Higher learning standards (4) More one-on-one teaching and tutoring (4) More cooperative learning, extracurricular activities, and life skills (4) Less homework (3) Overwhelmed teachers (2) Faculty & Staff Better student experience (6) Development of new programs (6) Upgrading curriculum (6) Maintaining strength of faculty (5) Increased parent connections (3) Increased monitoring (2) More funding for materials (2)

Question: What role would you like to see [your stakeholder group] play in the decision making process at New West? *Note: This was a short response item. Responses were coded and counted. Common answer categories and their totals are shown below.   Students Students should use voting in advisory to gauge student opinion on important matters before making decisions (19) Create elected student government positions (ex: president, vice president, senate, treasurer, etc.) to ensure formal voice and representation (11) Students should have a voice in how resources are distributed for school events and programs (11) More input on academic and elective classes offered (8) Administrators’ open-door, open-mind approach is adequate (5) More surveys like this one (4) Parents System is adequate (7) More involvement in general would be beneficial (7) More meetings and make minutes more accessible (7) More say in social/extracurricular activities (3) Parent input, but not final decision (3) Scheduling (2) Parents should advise (2) Faculty & Staff Happy with current system (5) More collaborative decision making and process (4) Establish a voting system (3) More active enrollment in decision making (3) More discipline for students (3) Increased variety of leadership options (2)

Stakeholder Survey – What’s next? Analyze the results Where is there consensus? Where does there need to be consensus? What are New West’s priorities for improvement? Join the conversation Discuss the data with other stakeholders Prepare to be interviewed by the visiting team, who will pull students randomly from classrooms Volunteer to be interviewed by the visiting team, who will be on campus February 27 to March 1