Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Quality Survey topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spring ISD presents school-quality survey showing 21,299 responses; board urges action on secondary-student concerns
Summary
Spring ISD officials reported 21,299 respondents to a new school-quality survey and flagged weaker perceptions among secondary students. Trustees asked for campus-level action plans, wider parent outreach and pilot programs such as student circles to address safety, discipline and engagement.
Spring Independent School District officials on June 9 told trustees that a spring school-quality survey drew 21,299 total responses — a 93% increase from the prior year — and that while parents and campus staff rated schools largely “excellent” or “good,” secondary students reported weaker experiences in several domains.
Chief of staff Dr. Harris presented the survey design and results, saying, “This year we had a total of 21,299 survey participants,” and outlining the response mix: roughly 30% elementary students, 25% parents, 25% campus-based staff, 20–25% middle school students, and smaller shares from high school students. Dr. Harris said the district used one overall quality question plus six domains (academic support, student support, school leadership, family engagement, safety and behavior, and communication) and stressed that larger participation made the results more representative.
The presentation showed parents and campus staff rated most measures positively (Dr. Harris said parents rated 74% excellent or good and campus staff 72%), but trustees pressed officials on declines or weaker results among secondary students. Trustee Jensen noted several secondary measures fell by more than 3% and said secondary-student verbatims were particularly informative. Trustee McDaniel asked for verbatim comments from students; Dr. Harris confirmed those comments had been compiled in a large binder and would be shared with trustees.
Trustees and staff discussed how the district will act on the findings. Dr. Harris said the administration will ask campus leaders to translate survey results into campus improvement plan actions this summer, provide leadership training during the summer leadership institute and use a standardized slide deck so each campus can share results and goals with families. “We will use our employee engagement survey results as well as our school quality results for each school and walk our principals through action planning,” Dr. Harris said.
Board members raised specific concerns about safety, discipline and student well‑being. Several trustees referenced external research on policies such as cell-phone bans; one trustee summarized studies showing discipline can spike in year one after adoption and then stabilize in subsequent years. Trustees also supported a plan to pilot “student circles” at secondary campuses, an initiative Trustee McDaniel described as a way to bring student voice into policy discussions.
On transparency and follow-up, trustees asked for a clear dissemination strategy for parents. Dr. Harris said campus leaders will receive a standardized slide deck and that results will be shared at campus open houses and other community events so families can see school-specific data and related action steps.
Next steps: district staff will provide campus leaders with their school-level results this summer, incorporate actions into campus improvement plans, and monitor progress through periodic checks tied to those plans. Dr. Harris said the district will continue to pair these school-quality results with employee-engagement data to form a fuller picture of school culture and climate.
