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Creating and Sustaining Family Friendly Schools

V. Improving Responsiveness to Stakeholders

The authors believe that one of the major strengths of charter schools is their high degree of responsiveness to parent and community needs. Many charter schools are started by parents or by community organizations. Virtually all are schools of choice, meaning they must convince parents to send their children there, in order to remain in business. In addition, charter schools tend to have more flexibility to adjust their programs. For instance, if parents indicate that report cards are difficult to understand, the school would be able to adjust the format of the report cards, unlike traditional public schools which may be bound in this regard by school district regulations.

This section covers parent surveys, including several survey examples. Next, we consider other means of gathering data on stakeholder satisfaction. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the process for using data gathered to inform adjustments to the program.

  1. Parent Surveys

    Surveying school stakeholders is a common and relatively inexpensive strategy for obtaining data about how the program is viewed. Once you identify the most important issues the survey is to address, you can make up your own survey questions or pick and choose questions from outside sources. Clearly communicate to respondents the uses and purposes of the survey. The four surveys discussed below can serve as a starting point. Surveys may be done by mail, by phone, or in person at school events.

    A cautionary note about surveys: with small populations being surveyed, it is vital to get a very high response rate in order for the data to be meaningful. For instance, if your parent population is 100, you need 73 responses to get a margin of error of plus or minus 10% (this means that if 80% of your respondents answer "yes" the true answer would lie between 70% and 90%). For a margin of error of just + / - 5%, you would need 80 responses out of 100. These calculations assume no systematic bias among respondents. For instance, if parents who are most satisfied with the program (or those who are most dissatisfied) respond in higher proportions, this would distort the results.

    The North Central Regional Educational Lab and the Illinois State Board of Education developed a Parent Involvement Inventory to assist schools in developing strategies to increase parent, family, and community involvement. The inventory is comprehensive, including 72 questions covering many segments of the school community - teachers, volunteers, advocates, administration, parents, and students. It can be used to determine differences of opinion or different levels of knowledge among parents, and school staff. It is a framework to begin the work of building a solid family and community involvement program. The survey is located on the Internet at: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/famncomm/pa4lk12.htm.

    Parent surveys are developed for a variety of purposes - to measure parent satisfaction with the school program, to gauge parent knowledge of school programs, to determine the level of parent's involvement in their child's class work, even specific subject areas, to help school's set priorities, set goals, develop a strategic mission for the school, etc. Parent surveys, when designed and administered thoughtfully, can be effective tools to improve parent, family, and community involvement in charter schools.

    The following is an example of a stakeholder satisfaction survey that was administered to parents by the Family Learning Center, a K-5 charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Parents indicated their level of satisfaction with the school staff, education program, activities, and policies. The levels of responses to survey statements ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

    Family Learning Center Parent Survey - March, 1999. Total respondents: 51
    Survey Item Score
      SD D NS A SA
    1.   The School is kept clean and neat.   2 3 32 14
    2.   My child feels safe at school.   1 7 33 13
    3.   Students and teachers are respectful to each other.   2 3 27 18
    4.   Children behave properly in school.   3 9 29 9
    5.   I feel comfortable contacting school personnel.   1 3 23 25
    6.   Teachers willingly discuss progress of my child.     1 19 30
    7.   Meaningful homework is assigned regularly. 1 7 12 18 12
    8.   Teachers expect high quality work.   2 9 18 22
    9.   I am satisfied with my child's academic progress.   2 5 22 22
    10. I am satisfied with my child's social progress.   2 3 23 23
    11. My Child's individual needs are being met.   3 6 22 20
    12. Teachers care about my child. 1   1 20 29
    13. Family nights are important for the school.   1 2 25 23
    14. I am pleased with the education program at FLC.   2 3 26 20
    15. The advisor program is important.     5 21 25
    16. The personal learning plan is important.   1 1 23 26
    17. Projects and active learning are important.       21 30
    18. Technology is important for learning. 2   4 22 24
    19. Field trips are important for learning.     5 17 29
    TOTALS: 4 29 82 441 414


    Another way to survey parents is through telephone interviews. In 1999, the Minnesota New Country School, in Henderson, Minnesota, called parents to assess their satisfaction with the school's education program, staff, and policies. Forty parents participated in the phone survey, which is close to a 50% response rate for the school. They used a company called Voice Poll40 , which automatically set up the interview. The school used a previous parent survey, which needed little adaptation for the telephone. Parents had to call in to be surveyed.

    The most immediate benefit for the school was that the survey answers were automatically and immediately tallied. Staff time did not need to be invested in manually calculating survey results. A disadvantage is that this method would only include responses from parents motivated enough to call in. Another downside was the survey was not designed to find out characteristics about the callers. Words of advice from Minnesota New Country School about using an automated phone survey system are to factor in the characteristics you want to know about the callers.


    Minnesota New Country School
    Parent Survey-Conducted 8/99

    A phone survey was conducted from August 27-September 21, 1999 for parents of students attending MNCS. Forty-one parents responded to the survey, which correlates to an excess of a 50% response rate from families. You will find a summary of responses below.
    90% of the parents felt their child enjoy learning outside the regular school building.

    On an average, about how many hours a week does your child use the computer?

    1-2 Hrs.- 5% 2-3 Hrs.- 15% 3-5 Hrs.-27% 5-6 Hrs.-20% 6+ Hrs.-34%

    63% of parents think their child takes responsibility for the quality of his/her education.

    88% of the parents would grade their child's academic progress this year as a C or better.

    65% of the parents feel their child accomplishes more academically in school than at home.

    71 % of the parents feel their child understands his/her work assignments.

    75% of parents feel their child is learning to be responsible in this school.

    90% of parents feel their child is treated as an individual in this school.

    56% of parents think their child's individual program of education could be improved.

    71% of parents feel in most areas of the Profiles of Learning their child has discovered an area of significant interest and meaning.

    90% of parents believe projects are an effective way for their child to learn.

    59% of parents feel their child is working up to his/her full potential.

    79% of parents feel their child is learning to think well in this school.

    87% of parents believe MNCS successfully provides an environment where their child is an active learner.

    77% of parents are aware of their child's progress.

    88% of parents feel their child's advisor treats him/her fairly.

    81 % of parents feel their child's teachers and advisors have high expectations for students.

    72% of the parents feel their child's advisor and themselves are partners in their child's learning.

    82% of parents feel comfortable talking with advisors about problems that their child might have at school.

    76% of parents feel that when their child needs help he/she can get it from the advisors and teachers. 89% of the parents think their child feels safe at school.

    82% of parents feel their child has good friends at school.

    76% feel their child's ability to relate to adults has improved because of experiences at this school. 81% of the parents feel that students respect each other at this school.

    85% of parents believe their child is proud to attend this school.

    83% of the parents would grade their experience as a parent at MNCS as a 'C' or better.

    You may decide to take on the task of doing a parent phone survey yourselves. Phone surveys can eat up a lot of time - for staff or volunteers. Plan on making three to four calls to the same person before you reach them and actually talk to them. You may get better results if parent volunteers are able to do the calling - parents may be more open about their views when speaking to another parent rather than a school staff member. Surveys should be as short as possible while still generating the feedback you need. For a phone survey, make sure it can be completed in ten minutes; five is better. Train callers before they begin the surveys.

    Another type of survey is one that explicitly compares the vision (what one would like to see in place at the school) and the reality. In March, 2000 the following survey was conducted at the Learning Adventures Middle School in St. Paul. Responses were on a five-point "Likert" scale, one being low and five high. In addition to comparing the ideal to the present reality, it compared parent and school staff responses:

                                                                                             Staff   Parents   Staff    Parents
    CHARACTERISTIC The extent to which I see these things operating in my school How important this value is to me and/or my child
    1. Learners take an active role in the learning process. They are primarily responsible for the direction and outcomes of course content. It is interactive, experiential, and relevant to their daily lives. 2.8                2.5 4.7                  4.2
    2. Learners work in small groups of cooperative clusters effectively working together. Groups represent different ages and talents in multiage, developmental formats. 3.3                3.5 3.9                  4.5
    3. Learners receive immediate constructive feedback that encourages and stretches their learning potential. This includes multiple assessments, reflections and performances. 2.5                2.4 4.6                  4.8
    4. Technology is integrated into each effort to effectively enhance and support the curriculum. 3.4                2.7 3.5                  4.5
    5. Parents, families, and communities are vigorously involved with the school. They frequently visit to share expertise and to develop family learning plans. Community members use the facilities after hours as a Community Learning Center. Communications between school and families are supported by such technology as voice mail and electronic mail. 2.2                2.1 3.9                  4.8
    6. Faculty are considered facilitators who are empowered to make curriculum decisions to improve the school. There is a focus on regular and consistent staff development and faculty collaboration. 3.2                3.1 4.4                  4.3
    7. Decisions are decentralized by parents, faculty, and students. District personnel support these decisions, including financial and program needs. 2.9                2.8 3.3                  4.6
    8. A shared vision guides all school practices. The mission statement is developed and supported by all stakeholders of the program, and all practices are reviewed regularly towards programs and completion of the mission and goals. 3.0                2.7 4.6                  4.8
    9. A caring environment is sustained that reinforces the values of productive citizens in a democracy. The climate is non-threatening, nurturing, and multicultural. Learners assume school responsibilities and learn to contribute to their community. 2.9                2.8 4.8                  4.9
    10. Learners have a personalized, child-centered plan through an advisor system and staying with the same team of educators for a period of up to three years. Developmentally appropriate and brain compatible teaching allows learners to proceed in ways that are comfortable yet challenging. 2.8                3.1 3.9                  4.8
    11. Curriculum is designed to make connections with life experiences. Programs are not presented sequentially or by subject matter. Learning occurs when new information is linked to facts already known. By integrating the curriculum subjects learners make and strengthen connections. Application to life experiences better prepares learnings for successful lifelong learning. 3.1                3.3 4.3                  4.7
    12. The school year is extended to provide flexible hours and more days of student contact as well as essential continuous staff development. It will also reflect hours of availability to community members. The schedule is more compatible with the needs and desires of our changing communities. 3.8                4.3 2.9                  4.3


    An additional sample survey is included as Appendix 6. The "School Report Card" from the Washington State School Directors Association's Tool Kit, asks parents to rate a wide variety of aspects of school operation, from curriculum and instruction to transportation services. Recent resource books on surveys include:


  2. Other Means of Assessing Parent Satisfaction

    In addition to surveys there are a number of other strategies you may find useful in assessing and documenting how parents feel about the program. One measure of parent involvement that a school should track is attendance at parent-teacher conferences and at school events. If all of your parents, or almost all, attend conferences with their children's teacher, this provides a strong indication of engagement in the program and may be worth citing in your promotional material. Another measure is rate of retention, i.e. what proportion of students re-enroll in your school from year to year. If almost all students (except for those graduating) remain, or those who leave do so because the family moves, this provides additional evidence of parent and student satisfaction with the program.

    If a large proportion of the parents turn out for school events such as open houses, parent nights, student performances, etc., this too is apt to indicate satisfaction with the program. You can take advantage of a meeting attended by parents to poll them for their responses to various aspects of the program. This can be done through paper surveys or electronic response systems such as wireless keypads where participants can enter immediate responses to questions posed by a presenter. Communications-oriented businesses, colleges, and universities may have electronic keypad systems available for rent.

    One way of tracking the tenor of the school's relations with its community is for the person who has the most contact with parents, e.g. the school secretary or receptionist, to tally phone calls and other contacts with parents. A simple grid can be developed to indicate whether the contact was a question, request, comment, compliment, or complaint, and which area of the school program it concerned. A log of volunteer hours put in at the school by parents and other community members is another means of tracking, and quantifying the level of involvement.

    Charter schools use a variety of means to assess parents' satisfaction with the school

    We asked charter school representatives from the schools we contacted for this project about other strategies (besides surveys) they used. Responses included:
    • school makes frequent phone calls to parents,
    • whole grade level meetings of parents and school staff serving that grade,
    • meetings of school staff with all parents invited, which include the opportunity for parents to give feedback on the program,
    • focus groups,
    • interviews with parents,
    • school director has a monthly get-together over coffee with parents, and
    • feedback is provided through parent committees.


    Finally, the focus group can be a powerful strategy for gathering input on a school program. Originally developed in the business world for purposes of marketing and advertising, the focus group has recently become popular for fields such as human services and education. A recent book on the topic defines a focus group as "an informal discussion among selected individuals about specifics topics relevant to the situation at hand....one of the characteristics that distinguishes focus groups from other forms of qualitative interview procedures is the group discussion. The major assumption of focus groups is that with a permissive atmosphere that fosters a range of opinions, a more complete and revealing understanding of the issues will be obtained." A focus group requires a trained moderator with prepared questions, who sets the stage for the discussion and elicits responses from all participants.41

    A focus group should consist of six to twelve participants; fewer may be insufficient for a stimulating group dialogue, while more becomes unwieldy and risks failing to allow all to express their opinions.42 Before you're ready to do a focus group, you'll need to define the aims of the group: what is it you are trying to find out? For example, you might want to call together a focus group to ask parents their views on assessment and reporting of student achievement or to ask what caused them to choose your school in order to inform your marketing efforts. Questions for participants should be focused around the identified goals.

    The focus group won't generate quantitative information that can be generalized to the entire parent population, but it will allow you to find out in detail how selected parents feel about specific issues. Consultants can be hired to do focus groups, but this is apt to be expensive. With a little study school people can carry them out themselves.

    Examples of recent books on focus groups include:

    • Focus Groups in Education and Psychology, by Sharon Vaughn et. al. (Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1996). Contains a good summary of issues around focus groups for non-business purposes, easy for non-professionals to use.

    • The Focus Group Handbook, by Holly Edmunds (Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999). Another resource for beginners to the focus group process.

    • Focus Group Kit, by David L. Morgan et. al. (Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1998). A more detailed introduction to focus groups; contains six short books focusing on topics such as planning, developing questions for the focus group, moderating, involving community members in a focus group, and analyzing results.


  3. Using Data Gathered from Stakeholders to Improve the Program

    Once you've gathered data from parents, students, school staff, community, etc., what will you do with it? What do you do with the myriad of scaled responses to teacher expectations, methods of instruction, effectiveness of the curriculum, appropriateness of assessments? You use it to change, refine, and redesign your program, goals, and strategies.

    One charter school interviewed for this handbook said that they did parent surveys to assess customer satisfaction. Staff realize that if students and parents are not satisfied with the school, the school is out of business. The same charter school said they used parent and student survey results for annual goal setting. School staff, students, and parents attend an annual summer retreat to discuss results of the surveys and major issues developed by staff. Students and parents give feed back and design solutions to issues raised by surveys and school staff. All present compare recommended solutions and come to a compromise.

    When asked how they used data from stakeholders to improve their schools, other charter schools interviewed responded:
    • We use data gathered on parent satisfaction for teacher evaluations. The data will impact policies and procedures of the school.
    • The director of the school uses data gathered to address parent concerns and to implement new measures that are needed.
    • Our school uses data in planning sessions and redefining committees.
    • We use data to improve school programming.
    • We've developed a survey including questions regarding school climate, curriculum, school development, and parent involvement and use the results to work on efforts to meet our annual goals.
    • We implement some suggestions and ideas, and, as a result, have written grants to expand resources for parents in our school.
    • Our school uses data gathered to improve communication with parents.
    • We take seriously suggestions from parents to improve our methods - if parents aren't happy with what we do, we'll lose their children as our students. It's in our best interest to continuously improve what we do to keep our students.

    Everything Hickman Charter School, a K-8 home-based learning charter in Hickman, California, does is parent driven. Parents determine curriculum, activities, assessments, on and off-site school classes, web-based classes, field trips, and enrichment experiences. Parent-teachers are provided with many opportunities to improve their teaching skills through numerous in service trainings, curriculum conferences support groups, collaboration, and networking - all of which they've requested and helped design. Education coordinators work with parent-teachers on a regular basis according to each child's school learning record. Part of the school learning record is a section for an ongoing parent survey. This is Hickman's mechanism to continuously assess and change their program to meet the needs of their students and families. Hickman is successful in meeting the ever-changing needs of its students and families through a truly continuous improvement process.

    Customer satisfaction is paramount, but so is a school's mission and vision. Any decision to change a school's programming should be based on the school's mission and stated outcomes. Parent satisfaction is extremely important to schools, but not every single person or every single concern can be addressed by schools. A group of parents or staff could make decisions that violate the intent of the approved charter, which shouldn't be an option.

    Data collected from parent feedback is critical in efforts to improve: school to parent communication; family involvement policies; services to students and parents, e.g. after-school programs and parent education classes; school - family - and community partnerships and/or collaboratives; school climate issues; and many other issues related to family involvement.

    You may wish to specify goals of the charter school in terms of parent and family involvement. If doing this, be sure to keep the goals achievable and measurable. For example, a goal statement could say "XYZ Charter School parent volunteers will log over 2,000 hours volunteering for the school during the 2000-2001 school year," or "parents of at least 80% of students will fulfill the school's request for at least 20 hours of school service."


home | table of contents
introduction | design & development | schools | parents | responsiveness | resources | appendices & references