District staff: surveys can be set up as anonymous; identifying data stripped at submission

Dr. Logan Tune, a district administrator, told the Davis School District board that the district uses two main delivery systems for stakeholder surveys — myDSD for parents and students and Oncor (staff delivery) with Qualtrics used for some instruments — and that surveys can be configured as anonymous, confidential, or identifiable. "The short answer is yes, our surveys are anonymous," he said, explaining that identifiable delivery information is stripped from responses at the moment a respondent hits "submit."

Why it matters: Parents and staff had asked how a login-based delivery could be anonymous. Dr. Tune compared the process to mail-in ballots: login and delivery mechanisms ensure the correct survey reaches the correct teacher or school, but the completed response data are aggregated and stripped of personal identifiers before anyone sees results. He added that the district suppresses reporting when sample sizes are small (N under 10) to further protect anonymity.

Dr. Tune and a staff member played a short video by Pete Vanderlin, a district survey specialist, that showed the back-end view staff see: aggregated scores and counts without respondent identifiers. "When you log in, it's not because we're tracking you. It simply helps the system know which school and teacher your child has," the video said.

Board members asked practical follow-ups. Ms. Alisa Mercer asked whether teacher surveys are delivered the same way as parent surveys; staff answered that parents and students receive surveys through myDSD while staff surveys are delivered through Oncor. Ms. Gonzalez asked whether administrators can tell who completed a survey while it remains open; staff said they can see that a survey is available, but once the survey is closed the identifying linkage is removed.

Several board members raised concerns about small-sample teams (for example, some sports teams) and open-text responses. Dr. Tune said coaches sometimes run their own program surveys that are not district-distributed; for district-delivered surveys the district can aggregate small teams at a higher level or suppress results when counts are too small to protect identifiability. On open text, he cautioned that large free-text returns require careful analysis so a single comment does not skew perceptions; he recommended focus groups or curated review when the district intends to act on text feedback.

The board was also reminded that non-survey anonymous reporting channels exist for safety concerns: the SafeUT app, HDRS, and formal human-resources or supervisory routes for personnel complaints. Dr. Montero noted HDRS captures substantially more reports and that staff reported a large share of cases through that system.

What's next: Staff said they will consider clarifying survey instructions and placing explanatory text near the survey submit button so respondents better understand anonymity protections.