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District presents end‑of‑year survey results; high school staff morale and student mental‑health needs flagged
Summary
District staff presented end‑of‑year survey results showing generally positive student and parent responses and notable concerns among high‑school staff about feeling respected and supported; the board asked administration to return with more detailed reports and options for focus groups and mental‑health partnerships.
District staff presented the Waconia Public School District's end‑of‑year survey results during the June 9 board meeting, highlighting mostly positive responses from students and parents and several areas for targeted follow up.
Matt Thomas, who led the presentation, said roughly 2,000 students (grades 4–12) completed the student survey and about 945 parents completed the parent/guardian survey. He reported that district‑wide measures tied to the district strategic plan — students feeling safe and supported (about 87%), feeling welcome/respected/heard (86%) and engagement (over 90%) — were generally strong across buildings but noted variation between elementary and secondary levels and small sample caveats at elementary schools.
On the parent survey, Thomas reported results “almost right there at 90%” for satisfaction with educational experience and a modest uptick in several measures from prior years. The presentation also highlighted items parents and students flagged: students feeling overwhelmed and a high school request for additional career and college‑readiness programming.
Staff survey results drew sustained board attention. Thomas reported 333 staff completed the survey, an increase from the prior year, and noted a rise in several measures: 86% of staff said they feel safe and supported at work and 95.5% said they are proud to work in ISD 110. But the board discussed a lower result in the question “I feel welcome, respected and heard at work” (82% district‑wide, with notable lower scores at secondary sites). One board member said roughly 30% of high‑school staff reported they do not feel seen, and members asked administration to dig deeper.
Board members and administrators discussed follow‑up options: site leadership teams are already reviewing building results and incorporating them into school improvement plans; the high school and district administrators discussed convening focus groups or asking building leadership to surface specific needs and potential resource requests. Paul Tordoff (district staff) said he had been tasked with finding an outside consultant to provide a “current reality” assessment and recommendations related to student mental‑health support.
The board asked for additional information and directed administration to bring back more detailed reports if site teams identify requests that would require district support or funding. Board members also requested a dedicated report on career and college readiness programming at the high school, including what currently exists in advisory and what gaps remain.
Key numbers and next steps: 13 students were opted out of the student survey; about 2,000 students participated overall; 945 parents responded; 333 staff responded. Administrators suggested further analysis by grade and building, possible focus groups to collect qualitative feedback, and follow up reports to the board on mental‑health partnerships and career‑readiness programming.
