Juneau School District Parent Survey Key Findings

The Juneau School District contracts with McDowell Group, Inc., a Juneau-based research and consulting firm, to survey Juneau parents on their opinions and attitudes regarding their children’s schools as well as the school district in general. The survey is conducted by telephone each May with randomly selected parents/guardians in the district.

2011 Findings

Confidence in Juneau School District

•  Four out of five Juneau parents (79 percent) feel at least somewhat confident in the district, including 29 percent who feel very confident. Seventeen percent do not feel confident in the district.

•  Elementary parents feel the most confidence in the district (31 percent very confident), followed by middle school parents (28 percent), then high school parents (23 percent).

Satisfaction with Teachers

•  Satisfaction with teachers is generally high among Juneau parents, with between 85 and 93 percent of parents at least somewhat satisfied with their children’s teachers. Satisfaction was highest among elementary parents, 63 percent of whom were very satisfied, followed by middle school parents at 51 percent very satisfied, then high school students at 34 percent very satisfied.

Confidence in Children’s School

•  Juneau parents are generally confident in their children’s schools, with between 85 and 88 percent at least somewhat confident. Similar to the teacher ratings, elementary parents expressed the highest confidence at 52 percent very confident, followed by middle school parents at 49 percent (up signficantly from 39 percent last year), then high school parents at 32 percent.

Satisfaction with Changed School Start Time

•  Elementary parents were much more likely to be satisfied (69 percent - up from 64 percent last year) than dissatisfied (21 percent) with the earlier school start time. In contrast, high school parents were about evenly split on the later school start time: 56 percent satisfied/40 percent dissatisfied (up a bit from 45 percent satisfied, and 47 percent dissatisfied last year).