The simplest way to find out what people think is to ask them, and that is what the Harvard schools have done in a spate of surveys over the past year. At this week’s School Committee meeting, both principals described the results of recent surveys at their schools. And both focused on areas where they said they wanted to see improvement, not on those that were already strong.
Two of the three surveys were strictly local—a survey of Bromfield School parents and one of Hildreth Elementary students. The third was the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, given every two years by Emerson Hospital to middle and high school students in eight nearby school districts.
Hildreth hopes for friendly, safe environment
The most recent of the surveys was one given to second- through fifth-graders last month. Of the 300 students in those grades, 279 took the survey, so Principal Sue Frederick said she felt confident in the results.
In general, well over 90 percent of the students felt they had friends at school, usually felt as if they “belonged,” and knew an adult at school they could go to for help. But Frederick and committee members expressed concern about the 4 or 5 percent of children who did not feel that way. Frederick also said she was concerned that 41 percent answered “sometimes” when asked if other students were friendly, even though they felt they had friends themselves.
Again, while a large majority of students said they felt safe in class, in hallways and bathrooms, at recess, and on the bus, School Committee members asked about the 2 to 4 percent who did not feel safe. Member Nancy Lancellotti was especially worried that those kids might also have answered “no” when asked if there was an adult they trusted to help them. But, because the survey was done anonymously, Frederick said there was no way to confirm that.
Frederick also said she was concerned that only 54 percent said the work they did in class “makes me think,” while 41 percent said it did so only sometimes. “We need to do some work on this,” Frederick emphasized.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, homework remained unpopular. A low of 35 percent said homework helped them learn, while about 62 percent said it did so only sometimes, or not at all.
What did elementary students want to change about school? Answers ranged from the most popular “longer recess” to cleaner bathrooms, more science, a bigger playground, and—unexpectedly—“make everything harder.”
Full survey results will be posted on the elementary school website.
Bromfield reports parent input
The Bromfield School conducted a survey of parents more than a year ago, in January 2016, but Principal Scott Hoffman said because of various scheduling difficulties, the School Committee had not heard the results until this week. About a third of parents responded to the survey.
The most frequent request from parents, Hoffman said, was for more elective classes; about 23 percent mentioned that issue. Bromfield recently added a number of courses, including engineering, two music classes, several health and wellness courses, and two new English electives, Hoffman reported.
About 10 percent of parents asked that less homework be assigned. Hoffman called the homework issue “a perennial question.”
In an example that shows the difficulty of interpreting survey results, parents split on whether Bromfield is consistent in matters of discipline. In the open comments section of the survey, Hoffman said, some parents praised the school for having appropriate consequences for rule violations. But about the same number called for more consistent enforcement of rules.
Ranking highest among the school’s services was the cafeteria, with Chef Paul Correnty’s cuisine as popular as ever.
The guidance department ranked lower than expected, Hoffman noted. “I sometimes think our guidance department gets a bad rap,” he said, pointing out the number of services Bromfield offers. Redinger said most complaints she had heard related to college placement and applications, which are just one segment of the work guidance does.
In discussion of the results, Lancellotti pointed out that almost 30 percent of the parents did not think the Bromfield teachers cared equally about honors and nonhonors students. She urged Hoffman to look further at that issue.
Youth Risk survey highlights a range of dangers
About 90 percent of Bromfield students in grades 6, 8, and 9–12 took the Youth Risk Behavior Survey a year ago, but this is the first time the results have been made public, Hoffman said. (A long delay in receiving, analyzing, and releasing the results of this survey is usual.)
Because this anonymous survey deals with such life-threatening issues as drug use, binge drinking, risky sexual behavior, and dangerous driving habits, Hoffman plans to hold a public meeting with parents and community members at which they can review and discuss the results with school staff. But a date has not yet been set for that meeting.
Guidance counselor Drew Skrocki presented the survey results to School Committee members, who listened somberly to the information. Also, survey results will be posted on the school website.
Skrocki singled out two areas that he found most worrisome. One was the number of students in some grades who said they had attempted suicide in the past six months, which he called “very high.” He said school administrators are aware of most of these students, but there is always the fear that someone unknown is at risk. “These are sobering things,” Skrocki said. “Those are students we could have lost.”
A second major concern was the high percentage of juniors and seniors who use cell phones while driving. More than 40 percent report talking on their hand-held phones while driving, and 28 percent admit that they text while driving. Both activities are illegal here. On texting, Skrocki pointed out, adults may be just as big offenders as students.
In general, Skrocki’s graphs suggested that some risky behaviors may start earlier in Harvard than in neighboring towns. But by 12th grade, Harvard students run risks at the same rates as kids in neighboring towns, although parents can take little comfort from those numbers. “Parents are the first line of defense,” Redinger concluded.
