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Survey shows families want concise communications; start-time shift seen as net positive with some bus issues
Summary
A district survey of 361 families found preferences for concise email updates and infographics, reported that later high-school start times led many families to report students wake later, and flagged bus routing and findability of budget information as concerns; the committee discussed follow-up data collection.
The Westford School Committee on April 27 reviewed results from a family survey that drew 361 responses (about an 11.3% response rate) and covered communications, budget findability, student progress, start times, and calendar preferences.
Committee members said the survey shows families still prefer email but want short, TLDR-style summaries with links or infographics to allow quick scanning. "People still wanted your email, but they wanted it to be TLDR, short written summaries," one member summed up.
On start times, the district asked families about the recent schedule changes; roughly three-quarters of respondents said the later start represented a shift in routine without other major impacts, while 11% reported needing additional morning childcare and 8% cited afternoon childcare impacts. The committee noted parents reported students are waking later with later start times, an intended outcome of the change. The presentation flagged bus routing as the major logistical pain point in open comments and members discussed collecting ridership and route-duration data this spring to verify perceptions about overcrowding and travel times.
Budget findability was another clear result. Only about 19% of respondents said they found district budget information easy to locate or interpret. Members discussed ways to make budget materials easier to find and suggested linking social posts back to authoritative district pages.
Committee members recommended targeted follow-ups: short-term actions include pulling bus ridership and referral data and sharing survey findings with relevant teams; longer-term actions include applying feedback to communications strategies and presenting data-oriented recommendations at the school committee retreat.
