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Board reviews revised self-evaluation tool built on ThoughtExchange, plans June 15–Aug. 10 survey window
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Summary
The Shakopee Public School District board reviewed a proposed self-evaluation built on ThoughtExchange that adds open-ended community input, AI-assisted analysis and a proposed June 15–Aug. 10 window; board members discussed requiring written comments for low survey scores and outreach strategies to broaden participation.
Tiffany Olsen, a district staff member who presented the proposed self-evaluation, outlined a 22-question instrument that keeps core closed-ended items for longitudinal tracking and adds an open-ended community question to capture broader input.
"We broke out the assessment into sections," Olsen told the board, describing the inclusion of MSBA questions and an open-ended prompt aligned with the district's community conversation. Olsen said the plan would open June 15 and that staff aim to prepare results for board review by Aug. 10, with a preliminary public summary available June 22.
Board members pressed on implementation details. Chair Jerry Peterson asked whether the system could force respondents who choose a low rating to provide a comment; Olsen said the platform can be configured to require comments for specific responses or to strongly encourage them, but she would confirm the exact logic for required fields before launch.
Olsen described ThoughtExchange features the district will use: a combined closed-ended and open-ended design, AI-assisted analysis to surface themes year over year, translation and accessibility tools, and options to import prior Baker Tilly closed-ended data for longitudinal comparison.
"It allows us to look at things differently rather than just your standard bar charts and tables," Olsen said, describing the platform's analytic enhancements that the district hopes will reduce human error and surface key themes across cycles.
The board discussed outreach to nontraditional audiences. Olsen said the district will use print (the spring Education Forward mailer reaching roughly 30,000 households), partnerships with the city and chamber, CFL audio/text supports for families who speak languages other than English, and Infinite Campus messages to increase awareness and completion rates.
Olsen and board members emphasized participation quality as a goal: higher completion of closed-ended items and more substantive comments on low scores to give the board clearer direction for improvement. No formal vote was taken at the meeting on adopting the instrument; Olsen said staff would refine configuration options and return with a test link and recommended settings for the board to review.
The board scheduled follow-up work: staff will confirm whether comments can be required by response value, finalize the June 15 launch details and provide preview access so members can test the survey before public launch.
