Schools Surveys for Parent/Guardians and Community Members Now Online

How do you feel about the Orcas Island Public schools? How does your child feel about them? How do the teachers and staff feel about their place of work?

And who cares?

The Orcas Island School District does, and it will be asking the community in general, parents, staff and students in each of the different schools (elementary, middle, and high) to complete customized surveys giving their opinions during the month of March.

For the past six months the Orcas Island School District Site Council has been designing and creating the series of surveys, using the online tool Zoomerang. There is a custom survey for each group type plus a small, one comment box general one for anybody that doesn’t want to do a full survey.

Ideally these surveys will be taken online for efficiency, but for those who don’t want to use or don’t have access to a computer, paper copies will be available at the school offices.

The surveys were finalized on Feb. 24, and are scheduled to be given to the students and staff at the school this month. Parents/guardians and community members can access their surveys online at the Orcas Island School’s website, www.orcasislandschools.org. Click on the “Orcas Island Schools (Elementary, Middle and High) Site Council Surveys” and then choose the applicable survey type.

Elementary (grades 3 through 6), Middle and High School students will take surveys created specifically for their age group while at school.

Elementary School Principal Kyle Freeman says, “The goal of the surveys is to create a School Improvement Plan that will provide guidance for the next 3 to 5 years.”

The Site Council Surveys will be monitored throughout the month, with data showing trends to be distributed mid-March, according to parent/substitute teacher Bob Connell, who has taken the lead in developing the surveys.