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Takeaways from District Communications Survey

Takeaways from District Communications Survey

Thank you to the more than 800 people who completed our recent survey about District Communications, giving us great feedback on ways to improve how we share information with the Lakota community.

The survey focused on district communications only and did not address those at a school or classroom level. We will repeat the survey at the end of the school year to continue to identify opportunities for improvement.

Most used comm channels

 

 

 

Takeaways


Lakota continues to need to share information across various channels.

We were surprised to learn that the mobile app appeared lower on the list (26%). We will be sharing info over the next few months specifically on how the mobile app can make life easier when it comes to calendar events and lunch menus.

 

 

 

most interested in comm

Takeaways


By far, the most important topic you want us to cover is academics. Going forward, we are going to focus on how to get that much needed information to the community in the following ways:

1. We will put an emphasis on ensuring that additional academic-focused content is shared through our communications channels in order for our community to gain a better understanding about the education taking place in Lakota classrooms.

2. Upcoming video series: Interim Superintendent Dr. Lolli will be hosting a video series that discusses topics related to academics. The first video, set for January, will cover the new College Credit Plus courses Lakota has added for the 24-25 school year and how they will affect Lakota’s report card score on college, career, workforce and military readiness. Other videos will focus on curriculum in K-6, mental health, and how early enrollment can affect things such as class size.

Another topic of high interest was safety.

Many of the details about our safety plans cannot be made public to safeguard the efficiency or safety of the plan. In the coming months, we will be sharing some stories about safety grants and other topics as they come up. Also of note, last school year we developed this Safety & Security brochure that outlines Lakota’s safety initiatives.

 

Satisfaction with the District Newsletter

Of those that receive and read the newsletter, 96% of the respondents were neutral to very satisfied.

Over the last few years, we have changed the newsletter to a monthly publication (instead of twice a month) and are now sending it on the last Tuesday of the month to avoid overlap with school and classroom news that typically goes out on Thursday or Friday.

 

Quantity and Quality of District-Level Communications

93% of respondents stated that district communications were average to excellent.

 

Ways to Strengthen District Communications

The last question solicited ideas on how Lakota could strengthen district communications. Below are some of the thoughts shared.

  • Too many sources. While this survey was specifically focused on district communications, as opposed to school or classroom, this feedback has been noted and shared with Lakota's executive team. Due to the nature of a K-12 school district, this is not an easy fix, but it is something that we are aware of and will look at possible solutions.

  • Be honest about the state report card rating and how to address the state report card issues. Dr. Lolli and the curriculum team addressed the report card, as well as an in-depth action plan that has already been implemented at the Oct. 2 school board work session. A recap of the meeting was also shared on the district website and through our district newsletter.
     
  • Too many buzzwords and acronyms. We will create a glossary of terms to post under curriculum on the website.
  • Hard to find all the info needed when new to the district. We will create a ‘cheat’ sheet for all new families that can be shared when enrolling.