School leaders cite improved safety but debate low secondary engagement shown in Panorama survey
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Summary
Holyoke administrators told the School Committee that Panorama survey results show gains in safety and staff climate, but secondary student engagement remains low (18% 'very/extremely excited' about class); the committee pressed for clearer benchmarks, data triangulation with walkthrough tools and targeted action steps.
Interim Superintendent S17 and Jenny Malave, executive director of technology and data systems, presented the district's Panorama survey results at the March 23 meeting, saying the data show "meaningful progress" on safety and adult workplace climate while revealing persistent challenges with the daily learning experience for grades 6–12.
Malave highlighted that the survey's engagement metric reports 18% favorability on a narrow question labeled "very excited/extremely excited" to attend class; belonging favorability was about 40% and some staff metrics increased year over year. "Our big takeaway… is Holyoke is making meaningful progress in a lot of areas," Malave said, while noting the central tension that students care about school even as their day-to-day experiences and sense of belonging lag behind.
Board members questioned sample sizes, disaggregation, and the apparent mismatch between Panorama engagement and the committee's walkthrough tool, which has shown higher engagement percentages. Member Ms. Lobel asked whether benchmarks exist to close the 18% gap; administration replied that Panorama is one data point and that the district triangulates Panorama with school improvement plans (SIP reviews), walkthrough observations and other measures. Malave said family participation in the survey was low (around 554 returns) and recommended investigating barriers to family response.
Administrators described next steps including aligning Panorama findings to the strategic plan (particularly belonging), encouraging principals to use SIP reviews to set school-level action items, and exploring more granular breakdowns by race, ELL status and grade. The presentation also noted early literacy, MTSS, and educator development as priority areas, and administration invited board members to attend SIP review sessions.
The board did not adopt a new districtwide dashboard during the meeting but asked staff to consider clearer benchmarks and question wording to help isolate which professional development, district or building-level practices drive perceptions. No immediate policy change was approved; the administration framed Panorama as a yearly "temperature check" to guide planning and requested time to dig into school‑level data for targeted interventions.
