In the fall of 2023, the Montana Office of Public Instruction introduced a new accreditation process for all schools throughout our state. This process included a comprehensive needs assessment, including stakeholder involvement, to help districts develop strategic action plans.

Caitlin Buer. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAITLIN BUER

Here in Scobey, a town of about 1,000 people in rural northeastern Montana near the Canadian border, we have one K–12 school with 280 students for the entire district. Our administration team consists of me and our superintendent. Conducting a comprehensive survey, along with the follow-up that was needed for the accreditation process, seemed like a daunting task, especially given all the other duties that I take on (including student council adviser, Title I coordinator, and Indian Education for All coordinator).

One of our first tasks was finding a survey for stakeholders that would fit our needs while also being easy for them to access and understand. We needed to be able to disseminate this survey to parents, community members, staff, and students. We also needed a report that was easy to understand and survey data that was easy to incorporate into our goals and strategic action plan.

Finding the Right Survey

The sample survey our state sent out for districts to use had 180 questions, which isn’t practical to send to community stakeholders who aren’t involved in the everyday life of the school. We were discussing this issue at a principals’ meeting last year when a colleague mentioned NASSP’s Building Ranks School Culture Survey. With 75 questions total and 32 of them flagged as relevant and specific to community stakeholders, the survey was just what we needed.

The survey was simple to set up, with opening and closing data collection dates we managed. Then we had to decide how to get the word out that we needed stakeholders to complete the survey. Using the electronic link to the survey, we sent it out through our social media channels and we published the survey in an article in our local newspaper. Stakeholders can easily access the survey online by clicking on the link, with no need for login credentials.

They were asked questions in the areas of communication, equity, ethics, global-mindedness, relationships, student centeredness, wellness, collaborative leadership, curriculum, human capital, innovation, reflection, results, strategic management, and vision and mission. It was very user friendly and worded in a way that all stakeholders, whether they were directly involved with the school or not, could understand and answer honestly. I was a little disappointed that we ended up getting 179 responses, but then I realized that the completion rate wasn’t bad since it was the first time we’ve ever tried something like this in our community.

The survey itself is confidential, allowing respondents to submit responses anonymously, including open-text comments. That was a little upsetting at first because some of them were negative, and I took them personally since I’m the principal of our one school. My superintendent suggested that I take a step back and realize that the comments were things we could improve on. We were able to see common threads, such as communication among staff, building cleanliness, and the desire to add an agriculture education program, that we might not have seen as issues before. People aren’t always confident enough to bring their concerns to our attention directly, so the survey offered a safer way to raise concerns.

Sample questions from NASSP’s School Culture Survey. IMAGE COURTESY OF NASSP

Some Surprising Comments

There were a few surprises, including some comments about student voice. Our kids want more say in how they’re learning and what they’re learning. That was something I’d never really heard from them before, and I wouldn’t have thought to ask about that.

In the end, the comments were the most useful part of the process. The actual questions were fabulous and gave us some great ideas to build on, and the comments provided more specificity to help us dig deeper on some subjects. In fact, we used the survey and the comments to help us put together a parent forum last spring, where we invited parents and others from the community to voice their concerns. We met for about 90 minutes, and the parents raised some important issues. For example, the parents’ survey rating on equity allowed us to put together a 90-minute forum last spring where we discussed some important issues about students being treated fairly. We discussed topics right there rather than receiving feedback some other way and taking much longer to follow up. I’m planning to make the parent forum a regular event each fall and spring.

I really liked the ease of using this NASSP resource. When the survey closed, we received a final report with all information, as well as the comments. We were pleasantly surprised to see the thoroughness of the final report, which included graphs that looked at the whole picture, as well as detailed graphs that broke down responses for each stakeholder group. As an administration, we looked at each dimension evaluated by the survey to see how we scored for each question by stakeholder group. The graphs are a huge plus. You can tell people statistics and results, but when you put it together in a graph for your school board members, for example, they can see it more clearly and ask follow-up questions.

We also shared the information with our staff to discuss the findings and areas of concern. The superintendent and I had a few key talking points, but then the staff told us what they gleaned from the results. For example, they noted that parents want to have more volunteer opportunities in the building, and students feel they don’t know where to go in the school if they are experiencing crisis or stress. It’s amazing how we can all look at the same report and notice different points that need to be addressed. We had some great discussions that helped us develop our strategic action plan. Going forward, we will use the areas in need of improvement noted in the final report to drive our instructional plan as well as our overall goals as a school.

Even if it’s not required or connected to state accreditation, I want to continue sending this survey annually. I hope it will become something the community looks forward to completing each year. At first, it seemed like a lot of work. But as I look back, I realize the whole process was really beneficial, and it can help us continue to improve our school.

Caitlin Buer is the K–12 principal of the Scobey Public Schools in Scobey, MT.

Learn more at nassp.org/building-ranks/building-ranks-school-culture-survey/.