PARIS
— A recent survey of students and staff at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High
School (OHCHS) reveals a striking difference in perception regarding the
school’s effectiveness.
The
study, completed December 10 and unveiled to school board members January 5,
was conducted by the Endicott Research Center, a division of Endicott College,
of Beverly, MA. The result is the first
step in a two-year process which district officials hope will lead to the
reaccreditation of OHCHS by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
(NEASC).
All
school board members participated in the poll, as did 909 students, 120 high
school staffers and 105 parents.
Each
group was asked a series of related questions appropriate to its role in the
educational process. Ultimately, all
questions were tied to the standards NEASC officials will measure when they
conduct a rigorous three-day tour of OHCHS in 2010.
In
general, the Endicott survey shows that school board members have the most
confidence in OHCHS, followed by parents, teachers and, lease of all, the
students themselves.
For
example, a key NEASC measure is the degree to which OHCHS lives up to its mission
statement, which reads "OHCHS is committed to encouraging students to be
responsible for their own learning and to honor integrity of mind, body and
spirit so that they may become contributing members of their community."
Although
only one-third of SAD 17 directors (33.3 percent) said they refer to the
mission statement “when making important decisions,” nearly two-thirds (62.5
percent) said OHCHS “lives” the statement goals. Meanwhile, just 42 percent of staffers —
including teachers (78.1 percent), administrators (5.3 percent) and
“non-teaching professionals” (16.7 percent) — say they “live” the OHCHS
mission.
In
contrast, 43.4 percent of parents said they have heard statement referred to at
various events, while just 31.1 percent of students claimed to be familiar with
their school’s mission.
Fewer
than one-third of OHCHS staffers (31.7 percent) say the schools mission
statement influences their individual teaching methods.
Curriculum
In
the survey section focused on the OHCHS curriculum, 83.3 percent of directors
said students have “multiple opportunities to meet school-wide academic
expectations.” That number fell to 78.6
percent and 72.8 percent, respectively, when asked of parents and teachers.
School-wide
academic expectations are reflected in the OHCHS curriculum according to 95.8
percent of school board members, but just 63.6 percent of the OHCHS staff.
That
spilt also is reflected in the perception of written curriculum documents,
which are “clear and comprehensive” according to 70.8 percent of school
directors, and 48.2 percent of staffers.
Three-quarters of parents (75 percent) said they know what is expected
of their children, academically. That
number fell to 69.4 percent when asked of students.
The
curriculum gives students “multiple opportunities to meet school-wide academic
expectations according to 83.3 percent of directors, 78.6 percent of parents
and 72.8 percent of staffers. The
question was not asked of students.
Parents,
in general, seem to have a high degree of confidence in OHCHS. Students, they said, develop “critical
thinking and problem solving skills” (73.5 percent), are “challenged to think
creatively” (78.4 percent), are “often asked to apply [learning] to real life
situations” (61.5 percent) and are “learning things that will be useful later
in life” (85.7 percent).
Staffers
appear even more certain, with 89.6 percent saying students master critical
thinking and problem solving skills and 83.3 percent agreeing that students
“have many opportunities” to apply their studies to real-life situations.
However,
in contrast, just 60 percent of students said their teachers “encourage” the
development of critical thinking and problem solving skills, while only 42.7
percent felt they are able to apply class work to life outside OHCHS.
Most
school board members (91.7 percent) feel the OHCHS staff is “involved in the
ongoing development, evaluation and revision of curriculum,” and opinion shared
by just 67.3 percent of the staffers, of whom only 37.4 percent said they are
given “sufficient time” for that purpose.
The
OHCHS curriculum is based on student performance according to 58.3 percent of
directors and 40.6 percent of staffers.
Meanwhile, while 87.5 percent of school board members say the district
provides staffers with ongoing professional development, just 75.5 percent say
they take advantage of that benefit, while only 50.8 percent say the
development provided supports the school curriculum.
Instruction
The
vast majority of school board members (91.7 percent) feel that OHCHS has
technology “adequate to support the curriculum.” Teachers, on the other hand, were less
enthusiastic. Slightly more than
two-thirds (67.2 percent) said they have “sufficient access to technological
materials,” while 65.4 percent of students said they use technology in the
classroom, or to complete homework. And,
while 87.4 percent of parents feel their children have the necessary text books
— 73.7 percent felt those books are “current and up to date” — only a little
more than half (55.8 percent) called OHCHS’ computing resources “adequate.”
The
OHCHS library is “adequately resourced” according to 63.3 percent of staffers,
although only 32.5 percent of students say they use the library to complete
assignments.
While
83.7 percent of OHCHS teachers claim their classes “engage students actively,”
more than one-third of parents (36.4 percent) say their children complain about
“being bored in school.” Still, 74.2
percent of students say they “fell comfortable going to [a] teacher for help.”
While
86.1 percent of parents and 79.2 percent of school board members say they “have
confidence” or are “satisfied” with teacher qualifications, only 75.6 percent
of student say their teachers “know the material for classes,” while 69.4
percent said teachers “are prepared for class.”
The
willingness of teachers to solicit feedback appears to be a concern at
OHCHS. A minority of both parents (43.9
percent) and students (42.9 percent) said teachers “ask for input to improve
class instruction." Meanwhile, only
45.3 percent of teachers said evaluation of their work “plays an important role
in improving [their] instruction.”
Still, 78.6 percent said they “discuss instructional strategies” with
other teachers.
Assessment
While
just 42.1 percent of teachers said they evaluate students “based on school-wide
learning goals,” 78.4 percent said their evaluations are “clear” and “course
specific.” Meanwhile, 73.1 percent of
parents said their sons and daughters “clearly understand the criteria for
grades,” an admission made by only 65.7 percent of students.
Assessment
at OHCHS is based on a variety of methods (tests, oral presentations, research
papers, reports, etc.) according to 87.5 percent of OHCHS staff, 75.5 percent
of parents and 71.8 percent of students.
Although
91.7 percent of directors said they get regular reports on student assessments,
only 70.8 percent felt that data is tied to the OHCHS mission statement.
Leadership
A
full 100 percent of school directors say OHCHS principal Ted Moccia has “appropriate
responsibility, autonomy and authority,” an opinion shared by 82.4 percent of
his staff.
Moccia
provides a “clear vision” for the OHCHS community according to 91.7 percent of
directors, 76.7 percent of staffers, 59.8 percent of parents and 58.2 percent
of students. The majority of OHCHS
staffers (89.9 percent) say they “feel comfortable” bringing problems to
Moccia, while 85.7 percent of parents called him “an effective leader.”
Decision-making
at OHCHS is inclusive, according to 91.7 percent of school board members, 64.4
percent of parents, 50.8 percent of staffers and 41.1 percent of students.
The
class schedule at OHCHS supports education efforts, according to 65 percent of
its staff. Roughly the same number of
students (65.6 percent) feel the schedule allows them to take the courses the
need. However, 43.2 percent admit that
classes tend to end before the teacher is finished with that day’s lesson.
How
OHCHS groups students in classes meets their educational needs according to
63.2 percent of parents, but just 45.8 percent of the school board, possibly
indicating a recent debate on the board level about heterogeneous grouping
A
little more than half (51.6 percent) of surveyed OHCHS students believe their
teachers “are concerned about my learning,” while almost two-thirds (65.7
percent) feel there is “at least one adult, in addition to the guidance
counselor, that I can talk to if I have a problem.” That may be because just 40.7 percent of
staffers participate in a mentoring program, although that did not seem to hurt
the number of parents, 79.4 percent, who feel their child has someone to turn
for personal issues, aside from the guidance office.
In
another example of the typical breakdown of the numbers seen in the Endicott
survey, 100 percent of school directors say student successes are “regularly
acknowledged, celebrated and displayed.”
The belief is shared by 69.7 percent of parents and 59.3 percent of the
OHCHS staff. Meanwhile, just under half
of all OHCHS students (49.9 percent) say that they have been personally
recognized for some accomplishment at school.
Most
teachers (93.3 percent) feel safe at OHCHS, while 86.4 percent of parents feel
their children are safe there. However,
that number drops to 58 percent when students are polled.
The
majority of parents (82.2 percent) feel their sons and daughters have a
“positive relationship” with teachers.
Interestingly, 58 percent of teachers say students respect the
professional and support staff and OHCH, while 55.2 percent of students say
they get respect from the staff.
Student
rated their respect for teachers fairly low, at 26.6 percent, and their respect
for one another not much higher, at 27.8 percent. In one of the larger gender gaps in the
survey, boys were 10 percent more likely to claim mutual respect than
girls. Girls also see more bullying at
OHCHS (40.7 percent) compared to boys (35.1 percent).
Only
about half of all students (52.8 percent) said “teachers care about me as a
person.”
Another
large discrepancy exists over the question of whether or not school board
action supports student learning. Board
members said yes in far greater numbers than staffers, 91.7 percent to 61.5
percent. However far more staffers, 84.2
percent, said they felt supported by OHCHS administrators.
School resources
Three-quarters
of parents (75.8 percent) expressed trust that their child can get the
appropriate help at OHCHS for any academic difficulties. About the same number (72.9 percent) said the
feel comfortable asking for that help.
Guidance
at OHCHS got some of the lowest marks on the survey. Although 71.7 percent of parents said they
knew what support services are available at the school, and 87.6 percent of
parents felt able to meet with a guidance counselor, if necessary, only 58.4
percent of students said they “know who to ask for help if I have a personal
problem.” Meanwhile, just 55 percent of
staff said they are “satisfied” with the level of support services at OHCHS.
That
may be because, while 61.6 percent of students say there is someone available
to help with course selection, only 44.7 percent “feel comfortable going to a
guidance counselor,” and a mere 35.5 percent can claim to have met individually
with a counselor “at least once or twice” in the last year.
Students
also showed some trepidation with the school nurse, with only about half (56.3
percent) saying they’d feel “comfortable” making that visit. However, most staffers (79 percent) and
parents (86.4 percent) expressed confidence in the health services offered at
OHCHS.
The
OHCHS library scored low marks in this area as well. Although 52.5 percent of parents believe
their children “frequently use library resources,” only 27 percent of students
say they do. Only about two-thirds (68.3
percent) said “the library has materials I need.” Teachers seemed similarly discouraged. Fewer than half (48.4 percent) use OHCHS
library resources to help prepare classes, while fewer than might be expected
(79.8 percent) labeled those resources at least “adequate.”
A
mere 44.4 percent of staffers said they are “satisfied” with special education
services at OHCHS.
Community resources
Although
70.6 percent staff members at OHCHS say they have “adequate opportunity” to
meet with parents, only 25 percent of directors say there is an “appropriate
level” of parental involvement at the school.
The same percentage of students says their parents participate in school
programs, although 28.9 percent of parents claim to be involved in support groups
or parent-teacher associations.
A
majority of parents (63.1 percent) say they are aware of the partnerships OHCHS
has in the community, and with local businesses, although fewer than half of
the staff (44.6 percent) say they make use of those resources.
Whether
or not the OHCHS building is conducive to learning depended on whether or not
the respondent was a parent (91.3 percent), a staffer (74.2 percent), or a
student (69.9 percent).
A
similar break-down was seen on the question of whether or not OHCHS is “clean
and well maintained.” A large majority
of parents and teachers said yes — 91 percent and 94.2 percent, respectively —
while just 67.6 percent of students were willing to say the same. Students and staff broke along similar lines
regarding the quality of furniture and equipment at OHCHS, with 61.1 percent
and 60 percent labeling the condition “good” or else saying that they were
“satisfied.”
Just
41.7 percent of school board members said they have a five-year plan to address
future needs and capital improvements, while 70.8 percent said they have
“sufficient financial resources” to cover annual maintenance needs.
Just
two-thirds of school directors (66.7 percent) said OHCHS is “adequately
funded.” That number fell when posed to
teachers (61.3 percent) and parents (44.8 percent).
A
majority of directors (70.8 percent) feel staff members are “actively involved”
in the budgeting process, although only 41.2 percent of the staff felt they
could say the same.
Accreditation process
With
the Endicott survey complete, OHCHS now moves into an 18-month period of
intensive “self-study,” with all staff members assigned to at least two
committees. That work will lead to a
report on OHCHS’ “critical needs and strengths,” scheduled to be complete by the
spring of 2010. The NEASC accreditation
committee will tour the school in November, 2010.
According
to Moccia, OHCHS expects to spend about $3,000 this year and a similar amount
next year on its self-study and reporting.
Much of that work, he said, will take place on regularly scheduled teacher
workshop days. The cost during the
2010-2011 budget cycle could run to more than $20,000, much of which will cover
food and lodging of the NEASC team.
The
primary benefit of accreditation, according to Superintendent Dr. Mark Eastman,
is that it helps give the community and colleges confidence in the proficiency
of graduating seniors. Being accredited
also makes it easier for students who move out of the district to transfer
credits to other similarly accredited high schools.
NEASC,
founded in 1888, is the oldest accrediting firm in the U. S., and the only one
in New England.
