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District reports 19% parent survey response; board discusses timing and follow-up
Summary
New Prague Area Schools reported about 467 family responses (roughly 19% of families) to its 2025 end-of-year parent survey. The board discussed declining participation, question timing, and next steps to improve response rates and use of building-level results.
The New Prague Area School Board reviewed results from the district'wide parent survey and discussed low participation and follow-up steps.
Maureen, a district staff member who presented the results, told the board the spring 2025 survey drew approximately 467 family responses, about 19% of district families, down from 21% the previous year. "This year, I believe it was April," Maureen said when asked about timing. She said the district typically keeps the survey open about two weeks and delivers it through the Infinite Campus system.
Board members and administrators said the participation rate warrants attention. Board member Anne noted, "Participation seems really low to me," and asked staff to research ways to increase responses. A board member who identified themselves as Alan asked about strategies for increasing response and how the administration uses the data.
Maureen and other administrators told the board principals and directors receive building-level breakdowns so they can act on site-specific results. Maureen said that historically participation has ranged from about 16% to 19% in recent pre-pandemic years, rose to 66% in the 2020-21 school year during pandemic-era hybrid learning, and was about 31% in 2018-19.
Board members discussed several possible changes to boost participation, including revising the survey instrument, shifting the timing from late spring to earlier in the year or adopting a midyear survey, and using working sessions to translate survey findings into measurable superintendent or principal goals. The superintendent said reviewing and updating the survey is already part of administration goals for the coming year.
Administrators also clarified some technical and interpretation details. Maureen said the survey is anonymous and that families with multiple children are invited to answer questions per student assignment; she noted this can make raw respondent counts behave differently than family counts. The district'wide results will be shared with principals and department directors for follow-up.
Board members asked staff to return with recommendations on how to increase participation and a plan for making the survey more actionable at the building and department levels.
