Northside presents Qualtrics stakeholder-survey results: 71,000+ responses, strong family and staff ratings; some drops in secondary sense of welcome

District leaders and vendor Isobar presented results from Northside’s second annual stakeholder survey (the Qualtrics-based culture and climate instrument). Staff reported more than 71,000 total responses across student, family and staff surveys and previewed a public-facing dashboard that will allow drilldown to campus-level results where response counts permit.

Consultant Nick Cone told trustees that survey items were grouped into categories (learning, culture/climate, safety, supervision, communication) and that the instrument used a five-point agreement scale. He said the survey returned strong scores for families and staff overall — including an above‑benchmark net promoter-like score for families — and unusually high staff engagement measures compared with national district benchmarks. Cone emphasized that year‑to‑year comparisons become more useful in year two and beyond and cautioned that small percentage changes may not be statistically significant.

Key findings trustees were shown included: elementary students’ learning and climate averages largely mirrored last year’s results but three elementary items fell below a 70 percent agreement benchmark (statistically significant drops were recorded for statements such as “I am happy to be at school” and “I enjoy going to school”); at the secondary level the lowest student responses related to perceived relevance of learning and the campus application of rules and discipline fairness; staff scores were high overall but one lower-scoring staff item was recognition from principals/supervisors; and family results returned very strong overall satisfaction and likelihood-to-recommend numbers with lower relative scores on facilities improvements, connection to other families and food choices.

The presentation included two new safety questions this year: "If I report a safety concern, I'm confident it will be addressed appropriately" and "I know what to do if there's an emergency at my child's school." Staff said both items rated highly among internal stakeholders but that families reported somewhat less confidence about what to do in an emergency. Trustees asked about mental-health–specific questions (the survey did not directly ask clinical mental-health questions but included related constructs such as belonging, welcome and connection). Trustees also asked about the availability of campus-level results; staff said principals had received campus reports and the public dashboard allows campus drilldown while protecting anonymity when response counts are low.

Staff described follow-up steps: (1) campus principals and site teams will integrate survey findings into campus-improvement planning; (2) district teams will translate operational items (for example facilities work orders and cafeteria menu feedback) into measurable action items and report progress; (3) the public dashboard will remain updated annually; and (4) trustees and staff discussed the possibility of more frequent quarterly operational metrics (work orders opened/closed, facilities repairs completed) so the board and community can track progress between annual surveys.

Ending: The board asked staff to return with more detail on how campuses will prioritize follow-up actions and how the district will report progress between annual surveys. Staff confirmed the public dashboard is now available on the district website and that principals have campus-level reports.