SECS Fall Family Survey Results-2023

FAMILY SURVEY RESULTS-2023

sT. edward catholic school spring, tx

ABOUT THE SURVEY

Each Fall, SECS Advisory Board sends out a survey to families in order to better understand families' thoughts around core components of the school. For the Fall 2023 survey, we maintained our survey domains to match those of our Strategic Plan: Culture & Operational Vitality, Governance & Leadership, Academics & Curriculum, and Catholic Identity.

We also added sections regarding uniforms and the future of the St. Edward campus.

The Advisory Board uses the responses of this annual survey to guide decisions and strategies for the continual improvement of St. Edward Catholic School.

For Fall 2023, we had 76 respondents representing families from PreKindergarten to 8th Grade.

CULTURE & OPERATIONAL VITALITY

“We need to update the campus."

~Parent Response

We’re Excited!

Of our 76 respondents, 72 (94 7%) agreed that Catholic education is a good investment in their children’s future and 67 (88 1%) understand the mission of SECS Further, 64 (84 2%) respondents believe our school buildings are clean and well-maintained and 61 (80 2%) would recommend us to friends and family

We Hear You!

While families overall feel supported, comments reflect concern regarding students’ work loads, stress levels, and interpersonal interactions and conflicts, especially in the upper grades. Families genuinely believe in the potential of St. Edward Catholic School and hope to see positive changes which would prioritize our students’ mental and emotional development. Responses also indicate that caregivers and their students sometimes don't feel comfortable asking for help from faculty and staff and would like increased communications from teachers in order to foster better relationships. Finally, there is interest in updating our campus to support an innovative learning environment and to increase campus security.

We’re Here to Help!

SECS has been working to develop grade-level specific interventions to improve student interactions and conflict resolution.

The administration will be scheduling a focus group in Spring 2024 with those respondents who responded that they were interested in learning more about the potential of updating our campus and buildings.

St. Edward Catholic School continues to work to improve its communication with families with the hiring of a part-time Communications Coordinator in Summer 2023. We will continue to work to improve on communication methods between families and faculty.

Have questions or comments?

Feel free to contact the School Advisory Board at advisoryboardemail@stedwardschool org regarding the SECS Fall 2023 Family Survey.

CATHOLIC IDENTITY

“I really enjoy that the students learn the Latin parts of the Mass and are also exposed to prayers...such as the Angelus and Divine Mercy Chaplet.”-Parent Response

We’re Excited!

Of our 76 respondents, 72 (94 7%) are pleased with the level of religious education offered at SECS and 70 (92 1%) agree that SECS fosters continued growth for their children in understanding and practicing the Catholic faith Additionally, 89 5% agree that the SECS Faculty and Staff emphasize and demonstrate the importance of Catholic values.

We Hear You!

Our SECS families continue to value our focus on the Catholic Faith and want SECS to maintain incorporating our Catholic Identity in our daily lives, including adding opportunities for more Catholic prayer, music formation, and retreat/reflection options Further, families want SECS to pursue adding more active service learning opportunities throughout the year, especially for our younger students Finally, families are concerned about student conflict resolution, especially in the Junior High grades

We’re Here to Help!

SECS has continued to strengthen our Catholic Identity this year with the addition of such activities as Eucharistic Processions, campus-wide Eucharistic Adoration, and the Friendzy curriculum, which helps student to develop social skills, emotional intelligence, and Godly character

Our Friendzy curriculum is also designed to aide in student conflict resolution Please note that all reported conflicts are addressed, but actions cannot be made public due to privacy statutes If you have questions about conflict resolution, please contact Mrs Makel directly

Our service opportunities for students and families have continued to grow this year! In addition to donation drives for the Houston Food Bank, the Houston SPCA, Villa Toscana Senior Center, and Loving Choice Pregnancy Center, we have also offered a Blood Drive and our 6th graders enjoyed a day of service at the Food Bank and SPCA!

Have questions or comments?

Feel free to contact the School Advisory Board at advisoryboardemail@stedwardschool.org regarding the SECS Fall 2023 Family Survey.

GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP

“Overall, communication has improved compared to previous years."

~Parent Response

We’re Excited!

Of our 76 respondents, 65 (85.5%) are both satisfied with our overall communication AND feel that the SECS administration and staff demonstrate an attitude of availability. Additionally,62 respondents (81.6%) feel that questions or concerns they have regarding their children's experience at SECS are addressed in a timely and thorough manner.

We Hear You!

While our families appreciate our improved overall communications this year (85 5% satisfaction rating), they also indicated they would like to see improved communication with teachers (78 9 % satisfaction rating) This improved communication may make caregivers feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns with administration and faculty (73 7%) Further, families would also like our newsletter to be more concise and for there to be more targeted volunteer recruitment outside of the newsletter.

We’re Here to Help!

Our Communications Coordinator will be developing a more stream-lined and targeted communication program for 2024-2025.

We continue to work with teachers to develop regular class communications and caregiver response schedules, so that families can understand more of what students are working on in class and work in real time with faculty to address any concerns Volunteer-based school organizations are looking into restructuring in order to better engage with volunteers so as to continue hosting successful school events

Have questions or comments?

Feel free to contact the School Advisory Board at advisoryboardemail@stedwardschool org regarding the SECS Fall 2023 Family Survey.

ACADEMICS & CURRICULUM

"I would like to see a stronger classical education in the curriculum and classes offered.” ~Parent Response

We’re Excited!

Of our 76 respondents, 64 (84.2%) agree that SECS sets high quality standards for teaching and for student learning. Additionally 62 (81.6)% feel that the academic curriculum at SECS meets their expectations and standards AND that their child will be prepared for the next academic year.

We Hear You!

Our families want to better support our faculty’s efforts in the classroom. To do so, parents and caregivers want more information on what students are learning so that they can reinforce student learning at home. Families are also concerned about the homework amounts offered at each grade level, wanting to make sure that students are able to have time at home with their families.

We’re Here to Help!

We continue to work with faculty and staff on developing more standardized and regular methods of communicating what students are learning in a class

As St Edward Catholic School continues expanding its classically-inspired education model, we will develop materials explaining course selection and offerings to families

As our population increases, we are working on expanding the offerings of classes, electives, and specials as finances allow We have already seen much success with our new Physical Education department!

Have questions or comments?

Feel free to contact the School Advisory Board at advisoryboardemail@stedwardschool.org regarding the SECS Fall 2023 Family Survey.

FUTURE OF ST. EDWARD CAMPUS

“Thank you for addressing the growing campus!” ~Parent Response

We’re Here to Help!

Thank you for taking the time to give your thoughts on improving our campus Ideas ranged from updated landscaping to new sound systems to new buildings! Thanks to our amazing PTO, we are already looking to update landscaping and we are assessing improvements to our sound systems in the Gym

Finally, the feasibility of significant campus improvements, including new buildings, will be discussed at a meeting with Mrs. Makel this spring. Those individuals who indicated that they would like to be included in the discussion will receive invitations once the meeting is scheduled with Parish leaders. If you are interested in being part of this meeting, please email Mrs. Makel at emakel@stedwardschool.org to be added to the invitation list.

SCHOOL UNIFORM INFORMATION

We Hear You!

We know the uniform transition has been difficult this year, but we were happy to hear that over half of our survey respondents were satisfied with both the customer service and the quality of products at Flynn O’Hara

We appreciate all of your feedback on our uniform offerings Members of the Advisory Board have taken your feedback and suggestions and met with our Flynn O’Hara representative. We are currently finalizing our Dress Code for the 2024-2025 school year and will have that information out next week.

Have questions or comments?

Feel free to contact the School Advisory Board at advisoryboardemail@stedwardschool.org regarding the SECS Fall 2023 Family Survey.