Annual survey inspires campuses to use valuable feedback

HISD campus administrators have been busy using the feedback from the district’s Your Voice survey to improve their schools and relationships with students and parents.

“After we realized the valuable data we would receive from the survey, we advertised it better,” said Neff Elementary Principal Amanda Wingard. “We did call outs to our parents to remind them to turn it in.”

The annual districtwide survey measures parents’ perceptions of safety, rigor, and school environments of more than 200 HISD campuses. Since the launch of the survey in the 2012-2013 school year, the survey has proven to be an effective tool for problem-solving and establishing better communication between schools and students and parents.

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“I really believe this survey has a big impact on HISD,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier told administrators during the district’s October Principals’ Meeting Wednesday. “Parents want to know that they matter and that their children are benefiting from what’s going on at your school.”

Feedback from the 2012-2013 survey inspired Thomas Middle School to start a Parents on Patrol program that invites parents to volunteer to walk the halls of their campus to ensure all students are in class on time.

At Wheatley High School, the staff focused on strengthening parent relationships by asking all teachers to make at least 10 parent calls per week and calls to the homes of students in their first period class. The initiative led to all parents receiving a personal call from a staff member on campus.

HISD school administrators and teachers are welcome to view the survey results at HoustonISD.org/YourVoiceResults to begin planning school improvements now for the upcoming year.