The 2009 Juneau School District Research Survey was conducted by and independent third party contractor last April, to gauge public opinions and attitudes regarding a variety of issues within the district. The survey was conducted by telephone on a random basis of 602 parents and/or guardians of K-12 Juneau School District students or former students within the past two years. The 2009 survey is the second of its kind to have been conducted for the school district. The baseline survey was completed in November 2007, as part of the Next Generation planning process. The results were presented to the Board of Education on September 15, 2009.

A comparison of the two surveys showed a statistically significant shift in the following areas:

• Confidence in the Juneau School District increased the most significantly rising 11% to 75.4%.
• The next most significant change was Confidence in the Child’s School which rose 6.4% to 85.5%.
• Confidence in the Child's Teacher remained steady at 89.2%.
• Participation in JSD Sponsored Sports or Other Extra Curricular Activities rose 5.4% from 2007 to 2009, to 62.6%.
• The Best Way to Get Information About Child’s School changed from 2007 to 2009. Teacher Letters increased by 14.3% to 77.3%, Newsletter increased 10.4% to 80.2%, Direct Mail by 9.2% to 67.6% and Radio by 7.2% to 43.8%. Word of Mouth decreased by 4.7% to 34.5%.

A summary of findings from the new survey questions reveals the following results:

• Sixty-four and a half percent of 65 students who graduated within the past two years went on to college and 11.4% got a job after graduating from the Juneau School District. Of those graduates, 68.2% felt the district prepared them well for their post secondary experience.
• Of the 12 students who left but did not graduate, 37% got a GED, 17.7% got a job and 17.7% had a child.
• When middle school parents were asked where they would choose to send their child to high school, 110 said TMHS and 104 said JDHS, citing where they live and academies or learning communities as the most important factors in the decision.
• Parents rated middle and high school students’ feeling of connectedness and involvement in school at 84.9% for “very” or “somewhat” connected or involved.
• Fifty-four percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay a 1% sales tax for school sports and activities.
• In looking at the goal to “Educate Students for Effective Citizenship,” 81.9% of respondents say their student participates in school, community or civic activities - far exceeding the 2008-2009 target measure of 55% set by the Board of Education in December 2008.
• Questions regarding homework load revealed 55.4% think amount of homework for elementary students is about right, 42.8% said homework for middle school is about right and 33.2% for high school. Twenty percent thought there should be more homework in high school.
• Respondents thought that school fees for supplies, field trips and activities are about right at 75.8%.