“I will never forget the first time I visited PDS. I walked through the school’s front doors and was greeted by bright natural light, friendly faces, and the sound of children’s laughter in the background. I knew immediately I wanted to send my children to PDS and haven’t regretted the decision since. As welcoming as the school felt during my first visit, it has only grown more personal and welcoming with each visit. It is truly a special place.”
This comment was typical of the written comments that parents appended to the 1-5 star ratings for each survey statement in our recent survey distributed in conjunction with our AIMS accreditation self-study.
As I reported a couple of weeks ago, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being high, the average score for all 26 questions was a 4.74. Of the 26 items, 16 received an average score of 4.9; 7 received an average of 4.8; and 3 received an average score of 4.7. No item scored below 4.7, but there was one individual response that gave 1 star to every item; and one gave 1 star to the first part of the survey and 5’s to the second half, along with comments that contradicted all the 1 star rankings. Those seemingly errant scores were still included in the results I just cited.
In this piece I am reporting on the type of qualitative comments that at least 2 people wrote. Most comments were along the lines of the sample extracted above. For example, there were many that said the equivalent of “without speaking to the program itself, I can speak to the reputation of PDS in the surrounding schools and the third graders that are received into those schools. Not only is it an incubator for kind and caring children, the children that leave PDS are academically advanced as well.” Those that spoke to the program itself included remarks very similar to this one: “PDS is the highest quality program in the area for ages Pre-K to 2nd. It is well-rounded, comprehensive and effective.” The respondent who said, “If there were a sixth star, I would’ve chosen it” summed up the overwhelming majority of written comments.
Many of those who commented also said something like this: “My kids look forward to going to school every day. They love being with their teachers and friends. PDS is a magical place that provides a strong structure/framework for kids to learn without feeling like they are learning.” Then there were numerous comments about the quality of our teachers, both homeroom and special subjects: “The teachers are amazing. They are the glue that holds the school together and promotes the nurturing learning environment” and “The strength of the non homeroom/core classes is great – visual arts, STEM, and musical arts are strong.” A number commented on our value proposition as well, stating something similar to this person’s perspective: “Compared with other independent schools in the region, it is hard to find a school program of this caliber with such a reasonable tuition.”
Of course there were some critical comments as well. Most centered on our relative lack of diversity compared to other DC area independent schools. A few made comments along these lines: “I think PDS falls short of having a diverse staff roster. I would appreciate some male teachers for the boys to learn from and more racial diversity if possible.” Put another way, someone stated, “though I know the school supports diversity, I would like to see more male diversity in the staff and socioeconomic diversity in the students.” All of these statements point to the School’s goals from the recently adopted strategic plan: we seek greater diversity amongst our students and our faculty and staff. That includes finding the ever elusive outstanding male early elementary school teachers, socioeconomic diversity among our students, and an even more welcoming, inclusive environment where every community member feels they belong.
One respondent made a similar comment at a few points in the survey: “I think it is a strong academic experience, but I think a bit of flexibility should be built in,” noting, too, that the school doesn’t do all it could to encourage creativity and promote a greater balance in encouraging children to take risks, [in favor of an] “apparent desire for structure and order in the classrooms.” Far more parents offered this type of comment: “[PDS] strikes the right balance between support and rigor, encouraging our child to grow academically while building confidence and a genuine love of learning.”
In two weeks I will publish my third and final planned piece on the survey. I will offer some thoughts about why we do some of the things we do and what we plan on doing differently in the future.