Teacher & Parent Focus Group Findings North Street School May 2011

Parent Focus Group Themes

Overview  28 parents and 8 teachers attended 5 focus groups conducted by Project Adventure on February 25 th  The purpose was to understand the current relationship between parents and North Street Elementary School  Important concepts:  Mental Models – this explains why two people can observe the same event and describe it differently  Ladder of Inference –someone climbs up her ladder of inference when they select only data that supports her belief or mental model

Parent Group - Themes  Inconsistencies  Amount of completed work sent home  Amount of homework given  Level of communication from teachers to parents  Feedback on Student Performance & Progress  Some parents felt school was forthcoming with information/feedback  Dissatisfaction with report cards  More/less completed work sent home  Inconsistency in amount of corrected work  Parent teacher conferences – too soon, too late

Parent Group - Themes  About Teachers  Range of styles and abilities which impacts quality of education  Impact of class size, district pressure and lack of educational tools  Vocal minority discontent with a wide range of items  Communication  Progress reporting  Tenure  Differentiated instruction

Parent Group - Themes  Administration  Problem solving – two views expressed  Defensive in terms of hearing and responding to problems  Solution-focused; more so than the previous administration  Concern that rational for certain educational practices not communicated well  Need for greater visablility  Special Education  Some parents have had a negative experience with the process  Some parents spoke positively  Parents New to NSS  Find school procedures/practices difficult to navigate  PTA not a good resource to new families

Teacher Focus Group Themes

Teacher Group - Themes  Parents can be hostile at times  Teachers feel distrusted by some parents  Some parents go directly to District level  Positive parents are overshadowed  Can even be silence by more vocal and negative parents  Particularly when they organize around issues  Administration  Teachers feel supported by building administration  Feel a less support from the district  Limited input on new initiatives  Feel lack of trust regarding managing time  Frustation with multiple new academic initiatives

Teacher Group - Themes  Special Education  Meetings can sometimes be hostile, particularly when outside counsel is present  Communication with parents  Feel challenged by intensity of s, not volume  s require careful responses  Performance feedback  Teachers feel they provide ample information on the progress of the children  Norms differ among grade levels as to type of work that is sent home  Teachers keep a portfolio of student work for parents to review upon request

Suggestions for Improving Parent-North Street School Relationships

Suggestions - Teachers  Develop and agree on clear guidelines and expectations for student, teacher and parent behaviors  Protocol for how to deal with a problem  Ways to create a more respectful environment  Parent/teacher dialogue forum  Develop clear consequences for disruptive behavior  Teachers need leverage to deal with both students and parents concerning these issues  Without consequences, teachers feel disarmed.

Suggestions - Parents  Monthly parent forum with Dr. Smith  Use high school model  Open meeting with Q&A  Develop and actively manage a more robust website  Parent portal  Include academic (homework) & non-academic (photos) updates  Use of e-blasts with timely and regular updates sent to parents  Grade level newsletters  Make more consistent  More substantive report card comments

Suggestions - Parents  Communicate protocol for parents, teachers and administrators for dealing with problems  Notes taken at evening meetings. Post these online or at school.  Surveys – Use simple online surveys via Survey Monkey  More outreach to new parents to NSS either via the school or PTA or both Suggestions - PTA