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Richfield superintendent cites record survey participation and discusses staff diversity and retention questions
Summary
Superintendent Steve Unoski presented the district's staff and parent survey results: 1,527 parent responses (record) and an 88% staff participation rate. Directors pressed for disaggregated retention data and asked how the district recruits and retains educators of color; administration said partnerships and mentoring programs are in place and pledged follow-up.
Superintendent Steve Unoski presented the Richfield Public Schools annual survey results at the April 6 board meeting, highlighting record parent participation and strong staff response rates.
Unoski said the district received 1,527 parent and guardian responses (a stated record) and reported 589 staff responses with an 88% staff participation rate. He described high positive ratings across teams (examples given in the presentation included a range of 91% to 99% on items such as recommending the district or promoting it positively) and flagged areas for continued work, notably "establishing an environment of trust and collaboration," which registered lower relative scores.
Board members pressed for more detailed retention data for staff of color. During discussion the superintendent said "licensed staff of color has ticked up to 6% from 4%" and also used the phrase "we are in the 22 ish percent range at this point" (the transcript records both statements; the superintendent did not in the meeting provide a single-line definition tying these two percentages to one particular staff subgroup). He acknowledged complexities in sharing personnel-level or evaluative data publicly and agreed to explore how retention and disaggregated metrics could be presented in a nuanced way. Directors asked whether exit surveys exist and whether additional retention supports can be developed.
Participants described active recruitment pipelines: the superintendent cited longstanding partnerships with the University of Minnesota and private colleges and said the district uses affinity partnerships and deliberate recruitment to increase staff diversity. He said the district pairs newer teachers with mentors, supports teachers of color with targeted PD, and participates in Q-Comp coaching in partnership with the union. A board member suggested a future agenda item to review recruitment and retention strategies in more detail.
The board did not take formal action on the survey at the meeting; building leaders will receive site-level results and are expected to communicate goals tied to the findings.
