Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) commissioned a survey during the 2009-2010 school year to assess the perceptions and feelings of students and parents in Dublin, CA. This district-wide effort was a cost effective approach to obtaining quick and earnest feedback from the community DUSD serves. More than 2,780 K-12 students, 670 parents, and 260 DUSD employees participated in the survey. The DUSD’s 2010 survey produced some interesting findings.

Parents tend to have a more favorable impression of DUSD than students on specific areas. On the subject of safety, 76% of middle school students noted that they feel safe at school, while 88% of the parents said that their student feels safe. At Dublin High School, 84% of the students noted that they feel safe compared 90% of the parents that said their students feel safe. Perhaps the most surprising survey finding was that only 62% of all Dublin High School students indicated that they would recommend Dublin High School to a friend or family member. Parents were much more upbeat with nearly four in five saying that they would recommend Dublin High School to others.

As a way to assess the level of parental support and engagement, the survey asked all the students how important their academic success is to their families. Of the middle and high school students who responded, 94% believe that their success is important to their families. Roughly 75% of the surveyed parents believe that DUSD is doing a good job of preparing their students for the next educational level. For example, 75% of middle school parents from the survey agree or strongly agree that DUSD is providing rigorous academic training to prepare their student for high school. The percentages that agree or strongly agree remained consistent at the elementary and high school levels. At Dublin High School, 77% of all students surveyed believe that their teachers encourage them to do their best.

In terms of school discipline, about half of the Wells Middle School students and students from grade levels 6-8 at Fallon School believe that students do not follow school rules. Similarly, 43% of the middle school students feel that students do not respect one another. This feedback could be a difficult item to address, as student attitudes towards others are often formed at home; however, many schools use posters, mottos, and announcements to encourage mutual student respect. As a result of these survey findings, DUSD admitted it needs to do better to communicate the District’s discipline policy and to ensure that students understand the potential consequences of their actions.

DUSD is planning to commission a survey for the 2010-2011 school year with findings presented in 2011.