Schools

Parent Survey Results Mostly Favorable

Still, some School Committee members would like to see results broken down by school and see teachers and other school employees do more for students in the short-term.

The results of a survey taken by parents of Swampscott school kids were released Wednesday, indicating 79 percent of them would grade their children’s school with an A or B.

An estimated 31 percent of parents responded to the survey, with a total of 399 surveys completed.

School Committee members Jaren Landen and Glenn Paster said they would like to see some of the results broken out by schools.

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The results were presented as district-wide figures.

Here are some of the results the committee was glad to see.

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  • 84 percent of parents believe their child is being prepared to do well in the next grade level.
  • 78 percent said their children were  receiving the kind of instruction appropriate to their child’s abilities.
  • 80 percent said the teachers set appropriate expectations for the students.

Some of the results, however, were troubling.

  • 53 percent said teachers give parents useful information on how to help their children.
  • 60 percent said they believed teachers provided feedback on homework.
  • 62 percent felt the feedback students got from their teacher on tests and quizzes actually help the child learn.

 In addition, 85 percent of the surveyed parents felt the school was cleaned well; but only 48 percent know if their child is getting healthy food to eat from the cafeteria.

Superintendent Lynne Celli said the school is working on improving communication with parents.

The superintendent said she was happy with the 81 percent of parents who said they were satisfied with the opportunities available to them for getting involved in their children’s classes.

 The survey will help the district with its planning —  identifying changes to improve education.

Committee member Landen said she is concerned about what happens in the meantime.

“I personally do no feel we are doing enough in the short-term to meet student needs,” she said.

The superintendent said rigor or more challenging material is being added to lessons and this will help students in the short-term.

This was the first of several surveys to be taken by parents, students and school employees.


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