Group Asks: What’s Your Opinion of Local Schools?

Click above to read the full survey.

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

February 4, 2013

An anonymous, self-described “local community group” has launched an online survey “to explore perceptions of the local school options.”

According to emails circulating among parents and others interested in Eastern Shore schools, the data collected in the survey will be used to “analyze the perceptions of our local schools by staff, parents, and community members.”

The group stresses that the survey is not being conducted by any local school system.

“We want to gather the honest perceptions of anyone with a stake in education on the Eastern Shore,” the email states.

The survey is not confined to public schools, but extends to private schools including Broadwater Academy, Cape Charles Christian School, and Shore Christian Academy.

The survey also asks questions of parents who are home-schooling their children.

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Although the majority of the questions in the survey have multiple-choice answers, there are also questions for more expansive response, such as:

  • What are your perceptions [of local schools] based on?
  • If you currently work for a local school, please explain why you do or do not plan to return next school year.
  • Please explain your general feelings about the leadership at local schools.
  • Please explain your general feelings about the quality of teaching in local schools.
  • If you plan to vote for school board members in the upcoming Northampton elections, what do you want school board leadership to know?

The anonymous group hopes to receive responses from “anyone who has meaningful input to share.”

As of Sunday afternoon (before this story was published), 133 responses had been received.

The survey may be accessed by clicking on the box at upper right, or this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_q-K0yCasm4_JcpiKE0b33MTaVlqsv-t-RMeLvz_crY/viewform

Survey responses were able to be read until this report appeared in the Wave. Shortly thereafter, reader access to responses was blocked.

Before reader access was blocked, most of the survey responses were negative, with the few positive responses tending to be about Accomack County schools.

Kiptopeake Elementary seemed to receive the most scathing criticism. One staff member wrote: I cry on my way to work and home from work every single day. I love the kids and other staff members, but I am on the edge of quitting every week. I am just guessing about the private schools. It has to be better than this!

A parent wrote: I was once an employee of NCPS. I have children at both KES and NHS. I know that the schools could be great and that good teaching goes on in each and every building. I believe that the leadership has made some very poor decisions and that the schools don’t stand a chance of recovering unless someone has the courage to do what is right. It breaks my heart to see such talented professionals so beaten down and discouraged. I hate that it has come to this. I have tried to be part of the solution, but I was driven out of participation in the schools. I’ll be looking into other options for the 2013-2014 school year at this point. I see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Perhaps the most novel idea expressed as of yesterday was: Accomack County should just take over the three Northampton County schools and clean them up.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Group Asks: What’s Your Opinion of Local Schools?”

  1. Theodore Warner on February 3rd, 2013 9:00 pm

    Surveys from anonymous groups like this are not about measuring the climate. They are about prompting sensational gossip. They are unhealthy and are going to do nothing but push opinionated critics further away from real solutions.

  2. Stefanie Hadden on February 4th, 2013 8:39 am

    While I agree that the creators of this survey should have identified themselves right off the bat in the interests of transparency, their survey has uncovered the disturbing truth about our local schools. There is no sugarcoating this anymore and the depths of the teachers’ misery at Kiptopeke is now crystal clear to all. The genie is out of the bottle. It is worth remembering that it is the children of Northampton County who are ultimately paying the price here, the children with no choices. We cannot talk about real solutions until the truth is exposed in the harsh light of day.

  3. Randall Parks on February 12th, 2013 8:55 am

    As the leader of Friends of Northampton County Public Schools, I was asked if the survey was indeed ours which was a natural assumption. It is NOT as everything we have tried to accomplish vis a vis an elected school board was out in the open, as we accepted responsibility for all of our actions. I think surveys of our schools is a good idea, but only in an open and not anonymous manner.