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North Allegheny SD presents survey results showing high safety and principal ratings; homework and peer respect flagged
Summary
District leaders told the school board on Sept. 10 that parent and student survey responses show very high ratings for safety, principals and teaching quality, while homework meaningfulness and student-to-student respect remain areas for improvement. The district had 2,459 student and 1,930 parent responses.
At the Sept. 10 North Allegheny School District board meeting, district staff presented results of the 2024–25 parent and student surveys, reporting strong overall satisfaction on safety and staff but identifying homework meaningfulness and student-to-student respect as recurring areas for improvement.
District staff said the surveys were administered in May 2025 to students in grades 5, 8, 10 and 12 and to parents. "We had 2,459 student responses. Parents ... we had 1,930 parent responses," presenter Dr. Dow said during the meeting. The district said parents received one survey for each child and that the full question set and results are available via a QR code on the district website.
The district provided comparative figures for 2023–24 and 2024–25. At the elementary level, Dr. Dow reported gains in previously weak areas: food-service satisfaction rose from about 70.5% to 76.4%, and a measure of the district's ability to help students manage school-related stressors rose from about 70.35% to 87.14%. Elementary combined ratings for statements such as "my child's principal cares and treats students with respect" were reported at about 97%, and "satisfied with the quality of teaching my child receives" at about 96%.
Middle- and high-school presenters said similar patterns emerged. Mr. Duramo said middle-school responses showed modest increases in homework meaningfulness and improved awareness of mental-health supports, but he noted that "students treating other students with respect" remains a challenge across schools. He cited positive work on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and said some schools are meeting Tier 1 fidelity while others are moving into Tier 2.
At the high-school level, the district reported increases across several measures, including student satisfaction with laptop support (about 97%) and satisfaction with the number of Advanced Placement course offerings. Still, homework meaningfulness and student respect were again listed among lower-scoring items.
Board members asked questions about how the district reports and aggregates results. Board member Dr. Gibbs asked, "I don't quite understand the rationale in averaging the parent and student scores," noting parents and students are different populations with different response counts. Board member McClure and others urged the district to consider targeted programs to address student-to-student respect; McClure specifically advocated exploring Rachel's Challenge, a program he has previously supported.
District leadership emphasized transparency and continuous improvement. Superintendent Dr. Hyland said the district will continue to publish full question-level results online and will re-survey in April 2026. "We're going to be extremely transparent with our results, whether they're good, whether they're bad," he told the board.
The presentation closed with staff encouraging wider participation in future surveys so building-level data are more representative; the district noted parent response rates are lower than desired and will be a focus for outreach.
Less-urgent details included breakdowns by building and by question, which the district said are available through the posted survey report and QR code.
Ending
The board received the report and discussed next steps; no board action or vote on changes to curriculum, policy or programs was taken at this meeting.
