About the Survey
The Office of Policy and Continuous Improvement will actively seek stakeholder feedback throughout the academic year. In February 2021, CMCSS provided parents and guardians with a 15-question survey regarding the 2020-2021 school year.
Feedback from families and community members is invaluable for effectively operating the school system. Below are the results from the survey and action items learned from reviewing the data. If you have questions regarding the results, please email [email protected].
Top Results
Question: I understand my role in helping my child be prepared for the future, whether college, career, or the next grade level.
97 percent of parents agree* that they understand their role in helping their child be prepared for college, career, or the next grade level. We appreciate the dedication of all of our parents to their children’s education.
CMCSS is committed to:
- Providing up-to-date information about standards, curriculum, or other expectations through our curriculum hub.
- Sharing information regarding informational sessions for families whenever possible.
- Providing opportunities for families to engage in the learning process whenever possible.
- Ensuring access to information regarding student grades through Powerschool.
- Empowering teachers to have open communication with families regarding student progress.
If you did not agree with the above statement, here are some steps to feel more confident in this area:
- Check out the CMCSS Curriculum Hub for your child’s grade level to learn more about the expectations of the district and the state.
- Make sure you have access to your child’s PowerSchool account to follow any updates to their grades or assignments.
- Attend in-person and Zoom presentations to learn about your high schooler’s post-secondary options and college readiness.
Question: My child has opportunities to use 1:1 technology.
This year, as a result of the pandemic, CMCSS made 1:1 technology available to all students to ensure they could access remote learning in the event that specific schools or the district as a whole had to transition to remote learning. With that being said, 92 percent of parents agreed that their child has an opportunity to use 1:1 technology.
CMCSS is committed to:
- Providing hotspots to support stronger internet signal for families that live in rural areas.
- Advocating at the state level for expanded broadband access based on the Governor’s Broadband initiative.
- Supporting parents and students as they experience technology issues through our Live Assist program.
- Offering continued professional development for educators to incorporate technology use.
If you did not agree with the above statement, here are some steps to feel more confident in this area:
- If you are having trouble accessing the internet, plan to request a hotspot.
- Contact CMCSS Live Assist to work directly with a CMCSS team member.
Question: The school district as a whole keeps me informed.
91 percent of CMCSS families agreed that the school district keeps them informed. We strive to continue ensuring we keep families informed by committing to continue the following practices:
CMCSS is committed to:
- Providing families with up-to-date information in a timely manner through multiple channels, such as email, social media, and phone calls.
- Working with all stakeholders to determine where there may be gaps in communication with families.
- Using federal dollars toward enhancing our practices for engaging effectively with families at both the school and district level.
If you did not agree with the above statement, here are some steps to feel more confident in this area:
- Check to be sure you have opted in for text messaging, emails, and other outreach from the district.
- Follow CMCSS official channels on social media, @cmcssinfo.
- Reach out to [email protected] if you ever have questions or concerns. Our team reviews inquiries daily, and we strive to ensure all concerns are promptly forwarded to the appropriate party, typically within 24 hours.
My child feels positively about his/her school experience.
Overall, almost 30 percent of families disagreed that their students feel positively about their school experience. With all of the challenges that we have experienced as a result of COVID-19, we certainly understand how difficult it is for everyone to maintain a positive demeanor, especially our students.
CMCSS recognizes the challenges that our students face each day that may make them feel negatively about their school experience, and we want to do all we can to ensure our students feel supported. Below are some steps that CMCSS will continue to take to ensure our students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) needs are met, on top of their academic needs:
- Providing an SEL hub for parents to access resources to reinforce SEL concepts at home.
- Implementing systems of support to respond to student needs and ensure disciplinary matters are addressed with support services, in addition to consequences.
- Using federal dollars to invest in an SEL curriculum and dedicated team members to further this work.
My child is learning what he/she needs to be prepared for college, career, or the next grade level.
Again, nearly 30 percent of CMCSS families indicated that they do not feel their children are learning the required skills to be prepared for their future, whether college, career, or the next grade level. We saw a decline in families’ overall agreement with this statement this year compared to prior years; certainly, we know the pandemic has had a tremendous effect on student learning this year.
However, despite this reality, this shift in families’ perceptions is still something that our district leaders take very seriously. We plan to respond to the effects of this pandemic in some of the ways listed below:
- Offering summer learning opportunities for students who need additional support to be ready for the next steps in their education at the elementary and middle school level.
- Piloting new tutoring models to better serve our students.
- Purchasing the ACT Aspire assessment to better track progress toward students’ college and career readiness goals.
- Continuing to explore ways to expand our regular academic offerings to ensure students are well-prepared for the future. If you have any feedback in this area, please email [email protected] so we may collect and share these thoughts with district leaders.
I feel supported by my child’s school.
Around 19 percent of CMCSS families disagreed that they felt supported by their children’s school. As a district, we strive to support our families as much as we can by sharing information and updates on a regular basis, but we also want to be sure our families know who to contact in the event that they need a problem solved and ways to ensure your concern is addressed.
These are some steps we are taking in this area:
- Providing school-level reports on your survey feedback to principals to ensure they have an understanding of the areas that are most important to their families.
- Working on communication guides for families to ensure they have the best contacts when situations arise where needs are not being met. If you ever have an immediate concern, please contact your child’s teacher or the school principal to discuss it.
- Continuing to provide information and updates through our Parent Advisory Council, which meets monthly to hear from district leaders and ask questions.
If you are not sure who your Parent Advisory Council contact is, please reach out to your principal, or contact LaTonya Long at [email protected]. - Continuing to provide immediate support to families who call or email with questions. If you ever have a question or a concern that has not been addressed, please contact [email protected] so we may help you share your concern with the appropriate contact.
Full Survey
My child feels positively about his/her school experience.
Strongly Agree: 20.8%
Agree: 50.5%
Disagree: 19.8%
Strongly Disagree: 8.9%
My child is learning what he/she needs this year to be prepared for college, career, or the next grade level.
Strongly Agree: 16%
Agree: 54%
Disagree: 20%
Strongly Disagree: 10%
I understand my role in helping my child be prepared for his/her future, whether college, career, or the next grade level.
Strongly Agree: 53%
Agree: 44%
Disagree: 2%
Strongly Disagree: 1%
I feel supported by my child’s school.
Strongly Agree: 24%
Agree: 57%
Disagree: 14%
Strongly Disagree: 5%
My child feels safe at school.
Strongly Agree: 26%
Agree: 65%
Disagree: 7%
Strongly Disagree: 2%
My child’s school is clean.
Yes: 53%
No: 45%
Don’t Know: 2%
My child’s school bus is regularly on time.
Yes: 34%
No: 10.9%
Don’t Know: 6.9%
Do not use Student Transportation: 48.5%
My child’s school keeps me well informed.
Strongly Agree: 35%
Agree: 54%
Disagree: 8%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
The school district as a whole keeps me well informed.
Strongly Agree: 34%
Agree: 57%
Disagree: 6%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
I know where to go to receive answers to my questions about my child’s education.
Strongly Agree: 26%
Agree: 58%
Disagree: 12%
Strongly Disagree: 4%
My child has opportunities to use 1:1 technology.
Strongly Agree: 30%
Agree: 62%
Disagree: 6%
Strongly Disagree: 2%
Overall, I am satisfied with the district’s response to reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strongly Agree: 24%
Agree: 54%
Disagree: 14%
Strongly Disagree: 8%
*The total amount for parent agreement with survey items is a combination of both Agree and Strongly Agree to responses.