High school sets survey on academic, physical environment

High school sets survey on academic, physical environment

Tim Leeds

As part of its planning process, Havre Public Schools has set up an online survey to find out what students, parents and staff members think about the environment at Havre High School.

High school science teacher Mike Leinwand, who is spearheading the survey, said it will be part of the school district's comprehensive five-year planning process. That process is required by the state Office of Public Instruction.

"We're really trying to get responses from people both who are happy with the school and people who want changes, " he said. "If you've got a kid in high school right now and you want to see some change, you've really got to make your voice heard. "

Leinwand said the results of the survey will be analyzed and presented to the school board, probably at its May or June meeting, to start looking at ways to improve the school.

The district is using a survey designed to help analyze the academic, physical and emotional environment at the school. Leinwand said the district was looking for a systematic way to look at strengths and weaknesses to identify ways to improve its operation.

The survey was designed to look at two main areas, Leinwand said. One is the level of expectations on students and teachers, the other is safety and similar concerns.

The survey will be available online through the second week of April. After it is completed, the district staff will analyze the data and prepare it to present to the board.

The survey is available at the high school website, which can be accessed from the school district website.

On the Havre High School website, a "Havre High Climate Survey" button on the left-hand side leads to the survey.

The first 10 questions are demographic in nature, with the first asking whether the respondent is a student, parent or staff member.

Leinwand said that, aside from the demographic data, the answers are anonymous.

Each of the 35 questions on the climate issues allow one of four responses, "strongly agree, " "agree, " "disagree, " and "strongly disagree. "

The instructions state that the two extremes — strongly agree and strongly disagree — indicate the person filling out the survey believes policy needs to change. Agree or disagree would not indicate a change is desired.

The questions range from asking about academic standards to the amount of disruptions in the classroom, from parents valuing education to the school using resources to help both highly achieving and struggling students.

After each question, a "pencil" icon may be clicked to add comments.

Online: Havre Public Schools: http://www.havre.k12.mt.us

As part of its planning process, Havre Public Schools has set up an online survey to find out what students, parents and staff members think about the environment at Havre High School.

High school science teacher Mike Leinwand, who is spearheading the survey, said it will be part of the school district's comprehensive five-year planning process. That process is required by the state Office of Public Instruction.

"We're really trying to get responses from people both who are happy with the school and people who want changes, " he said. "If you've got a kid in high school right now and you want to see some change, you've really got to make your voice heard. "

Leinwand said the results of the survey will be analyzed and presented to the school board, probably at its May or June meeting, to start looking at ways to improve the school.

The district is using a survey designed to help analyze the academic, physical and emotional environment at the school. Leinwand said the district was looking for a systematic way to look at strengths and weaknesses to identify ways to improve its operation.

The survey was designed to look at two main areas, Leinwand said. One is the level of expectations on students and teachers, the other is safety and similar concerns.

The survey will be available online through the second week of April. After it is completed, the district staff will analyze the data and prepare it to present to the board.

The survey is available at the high school website, which can be accessed from the school district website.

On the Havre High School website, a "Havre High Climate Survey" button on the left-hand side leads to the survey.

The first 10 questions are demographic in nature, with the first asking whether the respondent is a student, parent or staff member.

Leinwand said that, aside from the demographic data, the answers are anonymous.

Each of the 35 questions on the climate issues allow one of four responses, "strongly agree, " "agree, " "disagree, " and "strongly disagree. "

The instructions state that the two extremes — strongly agree and strongly disagree — indicate the person filling out the survey believes policy needs to change. Agree or disagree would not indicate a change is desired.

The questions range from asking about academic standards to the amount of disruptions in the classroom, from parents valuing education to the school using resources to help both highly achieving and struggling students.

After each question, a "pencil" icon may be clicked to add comments.

Online: Havre Public Schools