1	Pawling School District Community Connect Poll Results Report to the Board of Education and CDEP Committee September 27, 2004 Heather T. Adams, Senior Research Analyst New York State School Boards Association
2	Overview What is Community Connect? Pawling Poll Poll Results Things to investigate
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6	The Poll The 70-question poll was developed in cooperation with the district and the CDEP Committee, recorded and approved by the district. 4,000 households were contacted by mail and invited to participate. The district followed up with the distribution of reminder fliers and reminder phone calls.
7	The Poll Poll was conducted from Monday, June 7 through Sunday, July 18, 2004. A total of 330 individuals responded.
8	Who responded 95% of respondents completed the questionnaire in English (5% completed it in Spanish). 56% of respondents had school-age children attending the district. 52% of respondents indicated they have lived in the district for 10 years or less. 23% of respondents were district employees.
9	Who responded 20% of respondents had a child who graduated from the district. 9% of respondents were graduates of the district. 17% of respondents indicated they have children attending private or parochial schools.
10	Who responded respondents with children in school distribution across schools
11	Who responded respondent length of residency
12	Results
13	I have been satisfied with the programs and services my child has received through the district
14	My most recent contact with the district was a positive experience
15	My overall contact with the district has been positive
16	My overall perception of the education provided by the district is positive
17	I believe the district is meeting the needs of students with specific talents (academic, artistic, musical…)
18	The elementary school 82 individuals responded The middle school 58 individuals responded The high school 39 individuals responded and/or The district in general 40 individuals responded
19	Strengths: physical education/health and reading and language arts Weaknesses: music and art
20	Strengths: physical education/health, sciences and math Weaknesses: music and extracurricular activities
21	Strengths: art, foreign language and reading and language arts Weaknesses: physical education/health, math and extracurricular activities
22	Strengths: physical education/health and reading and language arts Weaknesses: music Graded A & B: “maintaining a safe environment”, “maintaining the facilities” and “manageability of class size” Graded F: “creating a parent friendly environment”
23	All respondents
24	Approachability of administrators
25	Effectiveness of the school board in setting policy and overseeing the governance of the school district
26	Accessibility of the school district’s superintendent to the public
27	Effectiveness of the school district superintendent as an educational leader and operational manager
28	Effectiveness of the central administration (superintendent, assistant superintendents)
29	Current information sources 22% of respondents identified the Pawling Chronicle as their main source of information about the district. The main source of information for parents was students, followed by school building publications. The main source of information for non-parents was the Pawling Chronicle followed by adults other than district staff, friends and neighbors.
30	Information sources what would best serve your needs 24% Pawling Chronicle (#1 for parents and non-parents) 20% Flyers and letters 17% District newsletter 17% School building publications 15% District web-site (tied for #1 for non-parents)
31	Top 3 all respondents
32	Desire for continuous learning 2. Independent thinkers 3. Creative problem solvers
33	Academically competitive 2. Mastery of basic skills 3. Analytical thinkers
34	Lack of space 21% Employees 40% Parent 18% Non-parent 35% 2. Poor use of tax dollars 15% Employees 19% Parent 10% Non-parent 12% 3. Lack of communication 14% Employees 18% Parent 15% Non-parent12%
35	Lack of student academic motivation 27% Employees 32% Parent 31% Non-parent 8% 2. Student behavior 25% Employees 33% Parent 20% Non-parent 50% 3. Lack of parent involvement 20% Employees 16% Parent 22% Non-parent 12%
36	Meeting the needs of students with specific talents Creating a parent friendly environment Lack of space (especially among employees) Music program