Dear Park Place families,

As you may recall, we surveyed our students earlier this fall to better understand their views of the climate and culture in our school. Now that we have the results and have taken time to review them, we want to share them with you and outline our goals for improving our students’ sense of belonging at our school this year.

94% of our students in grades 6-8 completed the survey during school this fall. You can view our school-specific survey results in their entirety HERE (click on the “11 schools” icon to select our school’s name to view our results).

All schools in the Monroe School District have set goals for improving our students’ sense of belonging at school this year. Sense of belonging is “the extent to which students feel that they are valued members of their school’s community.” Belonging includes feelings related to acceptance, respect, value, and connectedness, which we know impacts engagement, behavior, and academic performance. 

At Park Place, our “sense of belonging” goal for the 2024-25 school year is 52% of students responding favorably, which is a 5 point increase from 47% in spring of 2024. We are encouraged and excited to report that 58% of our students reported favorably on the fall survey! 

As we work toward increasing positive responses, we are implementing the following strategies at our school:

• Prioritizing relationships to ensure high levels of learning for all students
• Staff engaging with students on setting goals and reflecting on academic, social, emotional, behavioral growth
• Hosting “enrichment days” each term that include student choice and staff connections
• School-wide positive focus on the Puma Way (Positive, Participating, Polite & Inclusive, Prepared, Productive) 
• Counselor chats and small group meetings
• Culturally responsive teaching strategies and increasing high impact teaching strategies (examples include: goal setting, collaborative learning, targeted feedback) 

Our students will take the survey again this spring to help us measure ongoing progress in creating a strong sense of belonging for all Pumas. In addition, we will be asking families and staff to take the survey so that we can better understand their views of the climate and culture in our schools - be on the lookout for the survey this spring!

We're dedicated to creating a welcoming environment that helps our students succeed both academically and personally. We look forward to the positive impact our teamwork will have on making everyone at Park Place Middle School feel that they belong.

Sincerely,

Kristie Hilson, PPM Principal
Tanya Brinck, PPM Assistant Principal
Julio Chavez, PPM Assistant Principal