Pembroke school committee approves Comfort Dog and mobile-phone surveys to gather student and parent feedback

The Pembroke School Committee on Nov. 18 unanimously approved two district surveys designed to gather stakeholder feedback.

The first measure authorizes a Plymouth County Comfort Dog program evaluation developed in partnership with Bridgewater State University. The superintendent described the partnership, noting SRO Mary Beth Simmons has introduced the district to Sasha, the comfort dog, and that the university requested brief stakeholder feedback to help the program refine services. Members agreed the survey should reach parents, staff and age-appropriate students and voted to approve it. The chair recorded the vote as 5-0.

The committee then considered a nine-question mobile-phone policy survey intended to inform professional-development planning and create consistent classroom expectations. Members raised concerns about survey timing and possible overlap with other district outreach; several recommended an introductory note explaining that pending state legislation could limit local policy options. A student who spoke in favor of the survey said it would help identify varied classroom practices and improve consistency.

Committee members agreed to send the Comfort Dog survey promptly and to run the mobile-phone survey before winter break, adding an intro about the legislative context; the committee approved the mobile-phone survey as amended by unanimous voice vote (recorded 5-0). The superintendent said partial results could be shared back with the committee and community.

Next steps: the Comfort Dog evaluation will be administered in the coming 30 days per the partner—s request; the mobile-phone survey will be issued before the winter break and results used to shape staff professional development.