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District reports staff engagement score 4.29/5; administrators note recognition and workload as follow-up areas
Summary
Elkhorn Area School District administrators presented results of a fall employee engagement survey showing an overall 4.29 out of 5 score, 71% participation and an employee net promoter score of 52; staff asked for better pay, reduced nonteaching tasks and more prep time in open-ended responses.
Taylor Bridal, director (title given in the meeting packet), presented results of a districtwide employee engagement survey conducted in October through a vendor, EngageRocket, during the Feb. 24 Elkhorn Area School Board meeting.
Bridal said 71% of invited employees participated. The vendor’s overall engagement score for the district was 4.29 out of 5; EngageRocket’s benchmark is 4.03. Bridal also reported an employee net promoter-score metric: 61% of respondents gave a 9 or 10 (promoters), 30% gave 7 or 8 (passive), and 9% gave 0–6 (detractors), producing an NPS of 52, which Bridal described as “very encouraging.”
The presentation identified drivers where the district scored well (pride, collaborative relationships) and areas to address (recognition and classroom autonomy). Bridal clarified that one recognition question in the survey asked whether staff had been recognized in the last seven days — she said that specific timeframe likely skewed that response and that the question is part of EngageRocket’s comparative benchmarking questions.
Open-ended responses clustered around five areas: collaborative relationships and feeling valued; the centrality of students and classroom work; professional growth and creative freedom; desires for better pay and benefits; and operational concerns such as reduced nonteaching tasks, increased prep time, smaller class sizes, facilities upgrades (air conditioning, technology) and continued safety efforts.
Bridal said district leaders are drilling into the recognition and autonomy items with building leaders and plan a spring follow-up survey. She invited board members to suggest additional questions for the next survey; the district plans to conduct a spring survey around April–May and keep the core vendor questions for comparability.
Board members asked about survey distribution and response rates; Bridal said the district used repeated email campaigns and set aside time at in-service days to encourage completion. Officials noted varying response rates by employee group (e.g., lower response among custodial staff) and the trade-off between anonymity and the ability to follow up directly with nonrespondents.
The board did not take formal action on the survey results; administrators said follow-up work and potential targeted actions will be scheduled.
