District survey finds families rely on WITS, want emails and websites rather than meetings; many unaware of strategic plan details

Caroline Taggart of Via Evaluation presented three parent/family surveys the district administered this spring to gauge awareness of district communications, the strategic plan and the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan. Taggart told the Board the surveys were sent to randomly selected heads of household representing about 60% of the district’s households; response rates ranged from 13% to 18% across the surveys.

Taggart said the communications survey had a 13% response rate and found most respondents feel district and school communications keep them "very" or "somewhat" informed. WITS emerged as the most‑used communication channel, followed by district and school websites and newsletters; social media and meetings were less used for obtaining district information. Taggart said the district’s new mobile app has been downloaded by over half of respondents and that among those who use it, two‑thirds engage with it.

On the strategic plan survey (15% response rate), Taggart said 72% of respondents were aware the district has a strategic plan but only about 11% said they knew what was in it. Among respondents who wanted more information, the overwhelming preferred method was a dedicated email or newsletter and then the district website or mobile app; attending meetings or town halls ranked low. Taggart emphasized the small number of respondents who reported knowing the plan’s contents — she said only 17 people answered some of the deeper satisfaction questions — and cautioned the board to interpret those subresults with care because of very small sample sizes.

The DEI plan survey had the highest response rate (18%). Taggart said 80% of respondents were aware the district had a DEI plan and that respondents expressed higher familiarity with the plan’s details than with the strategic plan. Satisfaction was modestly higher for the DEI plan; however, Taggart said many respondents still selected "I don’t know" when asked how much progress had been made toward DEI goals. As with the strategic plan, respondents preferred written communications (dedicated emails/newsletters and website) over meetings for learning more.

Taggart described the sampling method: the district provided about 6,100 head‑of‑household email addresses; Via Evaluation randomly selected three groups (each about 20% of the list) so roughly 60% of households received one of the three surveys. Taggart said she used anonymous email collectors so she could send targeted reminders without being able to link responses back to individual respondents. She noted that response rates for parent/family surveys vary widely across districts and that parent surveys are among the hardest to get high participation for. "This is not great," she said of a 13% response rate, adding that "parent and family surveys in schools and districts are the hardest to get responses."

Board members raised clarification and next‑step questions. Vice President Maureen Poulin and board member Mark Manna noted the high percentages of respondents who said they felt informed and praised district communications; others asked how the district defines a head of household and whether the district might use incentives or alternate outreach to boost response rates. Taggart noted some private vendors use incentives but said the district must consider public‑fund restrictions on gifts. Taggart recommended written, on‑demand communications because survey respondents said they prefer to "stay informed on their own schedules."

No action was taken; Taggart encouraged the board and community to review the full reports and open‑ended responses posted in the board documents for more detail.