Teacher & Parent Focus Group Findings

North Street School

May 2011

Parent Focus Group Themes

Overview 28 parents and 8 teachers attended 5 focus

groups conducted by Project Adventure on February 25th

The purpose was to understand the current relationship between parents and North Street Elementary School

Important concepts: Mental Models – this explains why two people can

observe the same event and describe it differently Ladder of Inference –someone climbs up her

ladder of inference when they select only data that supports her belief or mental model

Parent Group - Themes Inconsistencies

Amount of completed work sent home Amount of homework given Level of communication from teachers to parents

Feedback on Student Performance & Progress Some parents felt school was forthcoming with

information/feedback Dissatisfaction with report cards More/less completed work sent home Inconsistency in amount of corrected work Parent teacher conferences – too soon, too late

Parent Group - Themes About Teachers

Range of styles and abilities which impacts quality of education

Impact of class size, district pressure and lack of educational tools

Vocal minority discontent with a wide range of items Communication Progress reporting Tenure Differentiated instruction

Parent Group - Themes Administration

Problem solving – two views expressed Defensive in terms of hearing and responding to problems Solution-focused; more so than the previous administration

Concern that rational for certain educational practices not communicated well

Need for greater visablility Special Education

Some parents have had a negative experience with the process

Some parents spoke positively Parents New to NSS

Find school procedures/practices difficult to navigate PTA not a good resource to new families

Teacher Focus Group Themes

Teacher Group - Themes Parents can be hostile at times

Teachers feel distrusted by some parents Some parents go directly to District level

Positive parents are overshadowed Can even be silence by more vocal and negative

parents Particularly when they organize around issues

Administration Teachers feel supported by building administration Feel a less support from the district

Limited input on new initiatives Feel lack of trust regarding managing time Frustation with multiple new academic initiatives

Teacher Group - Themes Special Education

Meetings can sometimes be hostile, particularly when outside counsel is present

Communication with parents Feel challenged by intensity of emails, not volume Emails require careful responses

Performance feedback Teachers feel they provide ample information on the

progress of the children Norms differ among grade levels as to type of work

that is sent home Teachers keep a portfolio of student work for parents

to review upon request

Suggestions for Improving Parent-North Street School

Relationships

Suggestions - Teachers Develop and agree on clear guidelines and

expectations for student, teacher and parent behaviors Protocol for how to deal with a problem

Ways to create a more respectful environment Parent/teacher dialogue forum

Develop clear consequences for disruptive behavior Teachers need leverage to deal with both students

and parents concerning these issues Without consequences, teachers feel disarmed.

Suggestions - Parents Monthly parent forum with Dr. Smith

Use high school model Open meeting with Q&A

Develop and actively manage a more robust website Parent portal Include academic (homework) & non-academic (photos)

updates Use of e-blasts with timely and regular updates

sent to parents Grade level newsletters

Make more consistent More substantive report card comments

Suggestions - Parents Communicate protocol for parents, teachers

and administrators for dealing with problems Notes taken at evening meetings. Post these

online or at school.

Surveys – Use simple online surveys via Survey Monkey

More outreach to new parents to NSS either via the school or PTA or both

Suggestions - PTA