Survey Finds Families Very Pleased with Cambridge Public Schools

“This school is a good place for my child to learn” say 95.6% of the families responding to the new survey of all K-8 parents."  When Cambridge Elementary Schools administered a Family School Climate Survey in the fall of 2004 for the first time, the school district looked forward to learning directly from families what they thought about their child’s school. 45% of all families in schools responded to the six-part questionnaire and the results are unusually positive. “The results show that families believe the Cambridge Public Schools to be safe, nurturing environments where they are welcomed to participate in their student’s learning. This is great news for Cambridge families with school age children and a compliment to school staff as well as the school district,” said Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn.  

The CPS Family School Climate Survey originated from a national search of surveys provided by the Educational Research Services, and the results were summarized by the CPS Office of Student Achievement and Accountability.  The family friendly survey was translated into four languages, and each school took responsibility for giving it to families - many choosing to hand it out during Back to School Nights or during school conferences with follow up mailings.

The survey explores six areas:  family involvement, teaching/parent relationships, curriculum and instruction, discipline, social development, and campus safety and environment. “As principals, we know that these are the issues that are most important to families,” said Martin Luther King School Principal Carole Learned-Miller, “and we wanted information that would inform our school improvement planning process.”

Under each topic a parent had from four to seven questions to answer such as: “I think what my child is learning at school is important” (98.9 % agreed), “I feel welcome at this school” (95.7% agreed), “The teachers expect my child to learn” (97.4% agreed), “My child gets along well with other students in this school” (93.5% agreed), I am satisfied with my child’s academic progress (83%), and “The teachers keep me informed about how my child is doing in school” (88.3% agreed). The only question lower than 75% was the response to the question, “I like how the playground looks” (72.1% agreed).   In particular, responses at some of the schools with small playgrounds or those which were under repair brought down the district average in that category.

Every category of responses (each one of the composite indicators) demonstrated satisfaction in the highest response rating possible.  The composite indicators at each school also rated in the highest response rating possible for every indicator at every individual school.  What is perhaps the most remarkable feature of the results is that there were almost no differences across the school district between families of different schools, of different ethnic groups, and different income levels.  Essentially this means that there is no school satisfaction gap by individual schools, ethnicity/race, or by income level for families in the Cambridge Public Schools.  “We are proud to be the kind of school district where families feel similarly positive about their schools regardless of individual schools, ethnicity or income.  This is a major goal for our schools and our community,” said Superintendent Fowler-Finn.

Last year, the school district administered a school climate survey to over 2,000 students and staff at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, the city’s only public high school, and is in the process of administering the same survey to the K-8 teachers, and the students in grades 6-8 in the district’s twelve elementary schools. “We are engaged in an aggressive effort to know more about what all members of our school community think about the schools, and we will continue to monitor staff, students’ and families’ thoughts about their school experience,” said Fowler-Finn. “It’s a good information tool that will inform policy making on the district and school level, and these results demonstrate to the Cambridge community that parents value what they are getting from the Cambridge Public Schools K-8.”