Newton Public Schools

From the Superintendent.......

I am pleased to present the findings from the Staff and Parent surveys conducted in late October 2007 as part of our Strategic Planning initiative. The surveys took an “appreciative" approach in which we set out to name the things that make the Newton Public Schools special today so we can be sure to let those enduring strengths be a driving force in any future decision-making.  We asked staff and parents to tell us what works, what makes a difference for kids, what is special about Newton, what we should strive for.  In addition to asking about system strengths, the questionnaires included an open-ended prompt which surfaced issues, concerns and areas for improvement. The summaries represent an aggregated look at all of the survey responses.  We hope you find the reports as informative as we have. 

While there are themes that did emerge from the surveys, this was never intended as a scientific study, nor can we assume that it is an exhaustive list of what’s important to parents or to Newton Public Schools staff members.  Because the surveys were open-ended and only had a few questions, there are certainly topics, issues and ideas that did not surface from this instrument.  We will remain open-minded as the Strategic Planning process unfolds.

Once the Strategic Planning Team has determined the strategic areas of focus for the Working Groups, we will delve more deeply into best practices nationally and internationally, what is working for us and what we want to look at improving.  If you have any comments you wish to make, please feel free to take advantage of the Strategic Planning “idea link” on the Newton Public Schools website.

Parent Survey

Staff Survey

Letter from Jeff Young regarding questions about the survey