The public school board wants to know if students and parents think their schools are safe.
As part of a survey to gauge the culture in its schools, the board has set up an online portal for parents and students to answer a questionaire anonymously. The survey asks a range of questions trying to draw responses on how parents and students feel about the schools they attend. There are questions about whether the student feels safe in the school and whether the student has been bullied.
The survey also asks about communications between parents and teachers and what parents think about their child’s learning environment and access to extracurricular activities.
“We’ll compile information and analyze how we need to change,” said Sharon Pyke, superintendent for the Greater Essex County District School Board. This is the first time the board has collected this kind of data, which was mandated by provincial legislation in 2011. The board has to do this kind of survey every two years.
The board will produce a report looking at the data on a board-wide basis and will not compare schools, Pyke said.
“The intent is not to compare schools,” she said. “It’s to look at my family of schools and schools overall.”
The results might be skewed this year and when making historical comparisons. Pyke said it will be noted that there were special circumstances this year that might affect survey results.
Parents and students might be especially displeased when answering questions about access to extracurricular activities because teachers stopped offering activities after school as part of their protest against the provincial government passing a new labour agreement legislatively instead of negotiating new terms.
Parents might be upset about report cards because they have contained little specific information about their child’s progress as part of the teachers protest and work slowdown.
The students from grades four to 12 will take the survey in class, while parents can respond online until March 22. The survey can be found at http://www.gecdsbsurveys.org/se.ashx?s=705E3EF06EBDEA80
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