HISD recently released the results of the 2013-2014 “Your Voice” survey, which gave thousands of students, parents and instructional staff the opportunity to share information on how HISD and individual schools have progressed toward district and campus goals.

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The survey, which was conducted for the second year in a row this past May, measures perceptions of safety, rigor and environment within the district. The survey also allows HISD to better understand the needs of its schools and to foster a culture of community engagement that will help guide future initiatives.

Principals across the district are carefully reviewing the results of “Your Voice” with their school teams and discussing ways to use the results to improve their campuses. A toolkit, including tips for sharing the results with school communities, is now available for administrators. These toolkits can be used for guidance in discussing survey results with parents and students.

The Rusk School Principal Eduardo Sindaco is working with his school’s staff to utilize the results from the 2012-2013 survey to make changes not only on how the school is perceived, but also on how it is run.

“We used last year’s survey to drive what we planned on doing for this school year,” Sindaco said.

The survey results influenced campus staff at Rusk to take a more proactive approach on handling school concerns and challenges to ensure families are served efficiently and effectively.

“With regards to our parents’ perception, I reorganized the front office to ensure a smoother check-in system for our entire school community,” Sindaco said. “I switched our front office duties to ensure an efficient and proactive approach regarding parental concerns where an administrator is always available for parental support.”

Review of the survey results spurred changes not only schoolwide, but at the classroom level. Rusk teachers refined techniques in the classroom based on the student feedback received from the survey. Additionally, school administrators worked on ensuring that teachers were authentically supporting students within high-concern areas. According to Sindaco, these small changes helped teachers motivate and challenge students, which meant students went home with higher self-esteem.

To see this year’s “Your Voice” results for all HISD schools, visit HoustonISD.org/YourVoiceResults.