Dear Monroe School District families,

Last spring, we surveyed staff, families, and students in grades 3-12 to better understand their views of the climate and culture in each of our schools. To facilitate this survey, we partnered with Panorama, a survey platform that connects student, staff, teacher, and family experiences to identify areas of district strength and growth.

The data collected in these surveys is being used to inform the development of our long-range district-wide strategic plan and all of our schools’ annual improvement plans. 

Student survey

54.8% of students in grades 3-12 completed the survey during school in the spring of 2023. The following high-level themes emerged after a district-wide review of the student data:

• The vast majority of our students (over 80%) reported that they have supportive relationships with adults and peers both inside and outside of school.

• The majority of students reported that they do not feel respected by their peers and student sense of belonging is not favorable at our middle and high schools (65% at elementary and 36% at middle & high school).

• Students also reported a low sense of self-efficacy with just 57% of our elementary students responding favorably and 40% of our middle and high school students responding favorably. Self-efficacy is the belief that one can succeed in achieving academic outcomes.

District-wide student growth goals

In addition to goals we have set for improving English Language Arts (ELA) and math standardized test scores and increasing student attendance this year, we have also set goals related to students’ sense of belonging at school, as measured by the Panorama survey.

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. 

Our goals for the 2023-24 school year related to increasing students’ sense of belonging are as follows:

• 40% of middle and high school students will report a positive sense of belonging as measured by the Panorama survey by the end of the 23-24 school year, up from 36% in the 22-23 school year.

• 68% of students in grades 3-5 will report a positive sense of belonging as measured by the Panorama survey by the end of the 23-24 school year, up from 65% in the 22-23 school year. 

We will be surveying students in grades 3-12 at school again in the coming weeks. The survey window will be November 1-17 and each school will determine when their students will be completing the survey during that timeframe. A list of the survey questions can be found here:

• Students in grades 3-5

• Students in grades 6-12

Families may opt their student out of taking this survey by emailing Jennifer Murphy, Director of Curriculum & Assessment, at: murphyj@monroe.wednet.edu. Students can also tell their teacher that they do not want to take the survey. Students not taking the survey will be provided with an alternative activity, such as reading or working in the library.

Staff, families, and students will have the opportunity to complete the survey again in the spring of 2024. Moving forward, we are committed to sharing a summary of the survey results in the months following these perceptual surveys, our goals to address areas of concern, and our progress toward those goals.

Jennifer Murphy 
Director of Curriculum & Assessment 
murphyj@monroe.wednet.edu 
(360) 804.2574