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Results of 2019-20 Successful Schools Survey identify 2 areas of focus for PPS
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Second-year results for the Successful Schools Survey are now available, giving Portland Public Schools another set of data to inform its work to realize PPS reImagined, its vision for preparing students to lead and improve the world.
SURVEY RESULTS
The anonymous survey allows PPS to gather data with which to make informed decisions about school climate and culture. Conducted by Panorama Education, this year’s survey builds on the 2018-19 survey that created a baseline to measure improvement. Each year, PPS has added more grade levels to the survey so that by the third year of the survey, 2020-21, PPS will have a solid baseline and a clearer picture of concrete information essential for school planning.
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“School climate is the foundation of a school community,” Dr. Russell Brown, PPS Chief of Systems Performance, said in a memo to the Board of Education. “It measures the social emotional health and wellness and is essential to the wellbeing of its students, staff and families. When you invest in and prioritize building relationships, trust, safety and a sense of belonging, school climate will improve and student achievement will follow.”
Three groups were surveyed:
- Students: 18,136 participated -- 6,718 elementary, grades 4-5; and 11,418 secondary, grades 7-10
- Families: 9,611
- Staff: 2,718 (1,842 instructional, 876 non-instruction)
Using the data, Panorama identified two “areas of focus” for PPS:
- Student Engagement: Engagement, or how attentive and interested students are in class, is the least favorable topic for elementary and secondary students, at 51% and 20% favorable, respectively.
- Perspectives on diversity and inclusion: Overall, groups reported favorable results on diversity and inclusion, but the numbers varied significantly by race. African American and Middle Eastern/North African respondents among students, families and staff all reported below average when asked about cultural respect among community members.
“We know that the student experience in our buildings varies by race, and want to reiterate our intention to hold racial equity and social justice at the forefront of this work,” Brown said. “We will use this tool to elevate the voices of underserved students so that we can build a system in accordance with our Theory of Action.”
The PPS Theory of Action states:
“If, we braid Racial Equity and Social Justice strategies into our instructional core work with our students, teachers, and content, and build our organizational culture and capacity to create a strong foundation to support every student then, we will reImagine Portland Public Schools to ensure every student, especially our Black and Native American students, realize the vision of the Graduate Portrait.”
PPS will use the areas of focus to shape next steps to take from the data, starting with fruitful discussions to formulate concrete action plans for the district. Individual school results will soon be distributed to principals who will be able to use them in planning and share them with families in the fall.
See Panorama’s Summary of the 2019-20 Successful Schools Survey
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Introduction
Portland Public School will begin the annual survey that allows us to gather data to make informed decisions about school climate and culture. The Successful Schools Survey begins on Monday, Jan. 27.
Three segments of the PPS community will take part in the anonymous survey: students, who will be asked to share their experiences in their classrooms and school; families, who will be asked about their perceptions of the school their child attends; and all school-based staff. The survey window for students runs to Feb. 14, and the deadline for the family survey has been extended to March 6.
The district will again work with Panorama Education. Last year we partnered with Panorama for the first time, and the 2019 results set a baseline that will allow us to measure improvement in subsequent years. The survey will cover such topics as sense of belonging, school safety, school climate, barriers to family engagement, as well as students’ thoughts and feelings on diversity, equity and inclusion in school.
Three groups of students will take part: fourth and fifth graders at the elementary school level; sixth and seventh graders at the middle school level; and freshmen and sophomores in high school.
Every parent and guardian in the district will be invited to take the survey, which will be available to families in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian and Somali. The family survey will be active on this page starting Jan. 27.