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District presents senior exit survey showing gains in critical thinking, empathy; administrators note low response rate
Summary
JFK High School administrators presented results of the class of 2024 senior exit survey (42% response rate), reporting increases in critical thinking and empathy and proposing supervised assembly administration and demographic follow-up to improve response rates and analysis.
JFK High School administrators on Thursday reviewed results from the class of 2024 senior exit survey and described areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
Heather Dvorak, speaking for the JFK administrative team, said the district's senior survey reached 42% of the class and was administered with collected email addresses, which made responses non‑anonymous. "Our sample size this year is 42% of the class, which is lower than we would have preferred," she said.
Presenters highlighted measured gains: Mr. Schwartz said positive responses on a critical‑thinking question rose to 86.8% in 2024 (up from 84.1% in 2023 and 78.5% in 2022). Doctor Wiley reported that 75% of responding seniors felt prepared in creativity and innovation, and administrators noted empathy responses rose to 76% this year from 71% in 2022.
Administrators credited a range of programs — electives (district presenters said the high school offers 126 elective course sequences), the "culture of care" lessons, project‑based learning opportunities, Braver Angels and restorative practices — for supporting those gains. They also cited inconsistent experiences across courses as an area for growth and noted student comments calling for more consistent instruction in conflict resolution and teamwork.
Board members asked about the survey's anonymity and possible longitudinal follow‑up. Dvorak and district leaders said past follow‑up efforts had been attempted but that the district now offers an opt‑in for future correspondence and will consider collecting limited demographic data in the next administration to permit subgroup analysis. The administrative team proposed running the survey in supervised grade‑level assemblies to raise participation and improve data quality.
The board thanked the presenters and suggested exploring post‑graduation follow‑up to measure whether seniors' perceptions change after college or workforce entry.
