Richmond City Public Schools reports small rise in satisfaction, plans school-level follow-ups

Richmond City Public Schools staff presented results of a districtwide family, student and staff satisfaction survey, saying overall satisfaction rose from 76% last year to 78% this year and announcing plans to share school-level results and meet with school leaders in August.

The results matter because school leaders and board members said they want clearer, school-by-school data to target improvements in family engagement and staff collaboration — one item the survey showed declining compared with pre-pandemic measures.

District staff said the survey measured satisfaction with an eight-question index and that a respondent is designated “satisfied” if they answered “agree” or “strongly agree” to at least 75% of those questions. The presenter said the survey was open April 8 through May 30 and that outreach included district- and school-level messaging, liaison contacts, door‑to‑door engagement, and on-site signups at the end of the school day.

Staff said the district offered incentives to encourage responses, including entry into raffles and $25 gift cards. The presenter added that the reporting package will include both percentage scores and segmented participant counts, plus summarized open-ended comments for each school.

“We didn't see a 2% increase in our daily satisfaction rate from last year to this year from 76% to 78%,” the presenter said when reviewing the top-line results. District staff noted that, while the overall change was small, some question-level results showed larger variation: board members flagged a drop in the share of respondents who said school staff collaborate on a child's education compared with February 2020.

Several board members asked for more granular breakdowns. Mr. Kirk, School board member, asked whether the district could provide participation and score trends broken down by district and by school. Mr. Hart, School board member, and Mr. Bishop, School board member, raised similar questions about whether schools are sharing results back with families and how principals will communicate next steps. Mr. Kammer, School board member, pressed for a district-versus-school participation trend to identify where response rates had fallen.

Staff said they have created school-level summaries compiled with the help of an intern and plan to meet with each school's leadership in August to walk through results, highlight positive findings and discuss areas for improvement. Staff also said they will work with principals on communications so families see how schools plan to respond to comments and findings. The presenter said the district intends to publish the full data set for schools and communities, but did not specify a publication date.

Board members and staff did not take formal votes on the survey results during the discussion. Staff framed the next steps as informational and implementation support for schools: producing school-level reports, holding leadership briefings in August, and developing guidance for principals on communicating results to families.