The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Winsted superintendent shares school survey results
WINSTED — If a Winchester student fails to complete their schoolwork, it’s OK, Superintendent Melody Brady-Shanley said Tuesday. The important thing is that they learn from the experience and persevere.
Brady-Shanley shared the results of a recent district climate survey with the Board of Education Tuesday evening.
The survey’s goal was to gather baseline data about the various constituencies’ view of the Winchester Public Schools and identify areas of strength and potential improvement, Brady-Shanley said.
Staffers considered “teachers supporting student growth and development of (grit)” and “students assisting each other without being prompted” as areas of strength, according to the results presented Tuesday.
District employees were also hopeful about the district’s future, with 84.5 percent saying they were either extremely, quite, or somewhat optimistic, and considered student-teacher relationships in the district largely respectful.
They wanted more interventionists hired to assist students, with 91 percent considering that an important need.
Ashley Holland, Christine Merritt and Kaitlin Fasano were hired by the Board of Education Tuesday to take on interventionist roles, according to provided documentation — Merritt and Fasano in a full-time capacity.
According to the results shared Tuesday, 86 percent of families “felt they were confident about... their child’s schooling choices” and “felt they can support their child’s learning at home.” Just over 75 percent believed their child can develop solid friendships in the district.
Areas of growth for parents included: improving connection between families, with 33 percent reporting they felt they could make such a relationship, and helping young people when they’re challenged — 70 percent of families reported that their children would give up when they found schoolwork difficult.
“That’s that grit and that perseverance that we really want to build with our children — to not give up whenever it feels a little difficult... we want children to persevere and push through that and try different options,” sad Brady-Shanley. “We want kids to try and failure — failure’s okay, that’s where the learning happens. So we want to them to try to success.”
Staff in each building will choose one focus area to emphasize for improvement over the school year. Brady-Shanley said. Ruthann Horvay and the Family Resource Center will work on the parent-related data.
Only a small subsection of district parents participated in the survey — 15.8 percent, compared to 82.2 percent of staff and 97.2 percent of students in grades 3-6.
Student data was not shared with the Board of Education.
Brady-Shanley said she planned to conduct the survey on an annual basis, creating a habit and compiling like-to-like comparisons.
In response to a question from board Chairman Doug Pfenninger, she said she would strategize on how to increase parent engagement next year.