By Alice C. Waugh
Parents have until Friday afternoon to fill out an online survey asking their opinions about various aspects of children’s school, and they’ll have another chance to share their views at a public forum on April 29.
All Lincoln Public Schools parents have gotten emails with links to the survey, which are part of a larger effort to gather feedback from students, teachers and the community, said Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall. The survey closes at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 17.
As part of a statewide initiative, students in grades 3-8 have already been asked to complete surveys about two of their teachers, and teachers have also been surveyed by the administration, McFall said. (All of the surveys are anonymous.) Realizing the administration needed feedback from the community as well, McFall convened a working group of Lincoln community members and drafted the parent survey over the past few weeks
“I hope the results will help us understand where we are as a district and where each individual school is as far as strengths, what’s important to parents, and what areas we might need to set as priorities for growth and improvement,” she said.
The School Committee is sponsoring a District Priorities Community Forum on Wednesday, April 29 from 7-9 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. At that event, parents may bring up any questions or concerns they might have with the schools, even if they filled out the survey. As the district is doing strategic planning and setting goals, “it’s another step in the process… and another opportunity for people to share with us their thinking and priorities,” McFall said.
Some parents offer input to the School Committee while it’s considering budget items for the following school year, “but it’s not always conducive to have those conversations in the middle of the budget process,” McFall said. “The forum allows for more open dialogue and give-and-take in a more informal setting.”
Depending on the turnout and reception on April 29, McFall said she hopes to make the district forum an annual event.
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