The Atlantic School Board Wednesday evening received a report from Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Survey/Research Consultant Tony VanderZyl, with regard to an IASB-commissioned survey of parents/students, Community and  and administration that rated several district areas of performance and weaknesses.

The Atlantic School Board conducted their meeting electronically, April 22nd.

VanderZyl said three summary questions highlighted: areas in need of improvement, what the district does well, and what needs to change. In the survey, 29% of parents & the community said preparing students for college, career and life was important. The survey showed the district excels in technology, communication, extra curricular activities, and the hiring and retention of quality staff members.

It also shows there is needs to be a big change in improvement as far as Anti-Bullying efforts are concerned, and Teaching. Students also said they were engaged enough in classroom activities. As far as whether or not the Atlantic School District has strong leadership. staff respondents to the survey rated leadership as “Low.” VanderZyl said it’s not clear whether they were referring to leadership by the school board, administration or teacher leadership.

The survey featured 19 agree/disagree questions, one of which dealt with board staff responses to “Our district standards clear and rigorous.” Both School Board and Staff disagreed with that statement, which VanderZyl says is concerning and perplexing, because “Your district standards ARE the Iowa Core Standards They have to be by law.” He said fact that there is disagreement either means they don’t know the Iowa Core Standards are your standards, or they’re not being properly implemented in the district. He said there’s any easy fix: Make sure every Board member and staff person knows the Iowa Standards are the district standards, and that should be posted on every teacher’s board, and the focus of school improvement goals.

Another yes/no question was “This district does not make excuses about level of student achievement.” Apparently, staff members think the district does make excuses when student achievement is lacking. VanderZyl recommended the District release the results of the survey on its website, and efforts the district will take, moving forward. He commended the Board for having commissioned the survey, adding that “It’s risky, it’s uncomfortable to open yourself up to this kind of feedback…you should be commended, not threatened by it.”

Iowa Law requires school districts to conduct a Needs Assessment Survey (NAS), but current regulations do not stipulate how frequently must be done. The rule of thumb, according to VanderZyl, is every three-to-five years. It’s not clear when the Atlantic School District conducted it’s last NAS.