Summary of Findings
Presented to the Superintendent’s Advisory Team
March 23, 2017
Process &
Participation
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12 group sessions & 9 interviews held
between March 1st – 11th
Used a common set of questions for all adult
groups & interviews
Used a common set of questions for all
student groups – same themes as adults but
more tailored to their experiences in schools
Group
# of Sessions
# of Attendees
Students
4
34
Faculty/staff
2
24
Principals
1
8
Parent/community
5
39
Community members/School Board
Interviews
7
9
TOTAL
19
114
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Generally representative of school
corporation demographics
◦ Parents/community & student groups – mostly
African American
◦ Faculty/staff groups – mostly White
What stakeholders
are saying across all
groups
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Support for students
Support for teachers
Support for parents
Consistency across the district
Positive learning environments & high quality
curriculum & instruction
Relationships within & among all stakeholders
Racial diversity & inclusion
Equity
Support for special education
Parent engagement
Communications
Technology
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More supports are needed to meet the needs – use retirees
as volunteers; high school students get community service
hours for working with younger students
More support services for high school students
Supports that exist are well regarded (e.g. tutoring at
middle school, math and science clinics at high school)
Start earlier – offer districtwide pre-K
More outreach to students to connect them with supports
Prepare students for the future – more support setting
goals & a vision for themselves
◦ Help identify future options & what it takes to get there – more
exposure to careers/career & technical education
◦ More classes to prepare for adulthood – e.g. cooking, how to do
taxes
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All stakeholders value social workers &
counselors but agree more are needed
All students need to feel respected & and
cared for
Support for students who feel stressed
because of
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Their home environment
Bullying
School work/feeling behind and unclear how to get help
Classes that are less well managed/there are discipline
issues
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Need high quality PD around…
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Differentiated instruction
Social emotional learning/where kids are coming from
How to recognize when a student is really struggling
New initiatives before they are implemented
Cultural & socioeconomic issues
Classroom management
More support in the classroom (e.g. aides)
More mentoring/coaching in the classroom
Effective use of weekly PD is a good structure
Teachers need to know they have the support of
the administration & the parents
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Parent education
◦ Support for them & their parenting
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How to help them help their children
◦ Actions they can take to support their children’s
learning (e.g. reading, talking to them)
◦ Instruction on new methods (especially in math) so
they can help their children at home
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Resources
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Supports
Staff
Programs
Quality materials
Districtwide curriculum
Continuity K-12
◦ Better transitions throughout (big divide from
primary to secondary)
◦ K-12 subject area meetings
◦ Exposure to careers/CTE from elementary school
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Most teachers do a good job & really care for
their students
Teachers need to be compassionate – love their
job & their students
Teacher can control the class through their
compassion & effective teaching – specific
students act up in one class but not in another
Teachers should be right between strict & nice
There aren’t bad kids, just kids with challenges
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Curriculum is strong & clear
Clear and high expectations well laid out
Use multiple methods, hands-on approach to
teaching & learning
◦ Students describe lots of worksheets & seat work
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Teachers as facilitators for learning vs. lecturers
Differentiated instruction that’s intentional &
purposeful
Routinely check for understanding & adjust pace &
instruction as needed
Reach out to students proactively to make sure they
get helped
Lots of test prep though students don’t think it is
effective
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With students
◦ Developing relationships with the kids is the number one
priority
◦ Teachers need to engage with students & recognize each
one has different strengths, weaknesses & learning
styles
◦ It’s important that teachers & students treat each other
like humans
◦ Teachers & administrators have belittled students – they
don’t know what’s going on in their lives
◦ The kids won’t care until they know that you care
◦ Kids should want to come into your classroom – there
should be mutual respect
◦ Kids will rise if they feel appreciated & their success is
being celebrated
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With parents
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Among education professionals
◦ Must build relationships with parents – understanding their
backgrounds comes from knowing the families
◦ Teachers need parental support & parents need to
understand what their child is doing & that we’re not out to
get them
◦ Good relationships with parents makes the job much easier
◦ Teachers need training in relationship building
◦ We have to continue to learn to work together as a team for
the betterment of the kids
◦ It’s not just the teachers and aides – it’s also the noneducators who have a role in making sure the kids are
successful
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Many point to district initiatives directed by
Mr. Lackey as excellent work that has led to a
positive culture
◦ STAND
◦ Study circles
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Adults need professional development on
culturally competent curriculum & instruction
Staffing practices should stress hiring highly
qualified teachers of color
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All students should have the same opportunities
across MCSC
Meet kids where they are but expect they can do it
Set high expectations & expose all students to
rigorous work
Placement in honors at middle school – one test, not
indicative of students’ ability to do honors level work
All classes should have the same level of rigor & high
expectations – not just honors classes
◦ Students not in honors think they are thought less of –
“They’re right, we do get treated differently, I think my
teacher thinks less of them.”
◦ “No one cares about me, why should I care?”
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More students with significant needs - and
more without IEPs who need similar support
Need more resources – more people, more
training for teachers & aides, more vocational
education
Some parents report unevenness of services
◦ Some thought it was excellent
◦ Some thought it was a rough babysitting situation
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MSCS needs to be welcoming
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First staff to greet parents
Visits & volunteer opportunities aligned with safety
Offer child care, food to encourage attendance
First interaction shouldn’t be to say something
negative about their student
Need to work collaboratively with parents
◦ Go to them – build relationships
◦ Multiple opportunities to listen
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Parents want to understand what students are
doing
◦ Newsletters helpful
◦ Parents of older students want a syllabus or some
other way to know what their student is studying
Use diverse methods of communications – email,
hard copy, social media etc.
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Parents & students want teachers to
communicate with them more – they find out
too late when they are doing poorly
◦ Use of RDS –training; consistent use; keep up-todate
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MCSC needs more & better technology
◦ Need for replacement/updating
◦ Students do everything on paper but then have to
take ISTEP on computer
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Need training on proper/effective use of
technology
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Many came to Merrillville for the schools &
continue to be happy with that decision
Diversity is viewed as a major strength
MCSC is generally seen as successful
◦ High school especially mentioned as successful
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Great teachers & principals
Students have adults who they can go to
Academic & social emotional supports are
helpful
Interesting
findings
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Total number of surveys completed
◦ Online – 183
◦ Hard copy – 96
Basic demographics
 Race
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American Indian/Alaska Native -- 1
Asian -- 2
Black/African American -- 107
Hispanic – 24
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander -- 2
White -- 121
Multi Racial -- 15
Stakeholders
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Parent -- 81
Student -- 82
Teacher -- 86
Non-teaching staff -- 45
Administrator -- 7
Community member – 28
School Affiliation
Adult and Continuing Education -1
Merrillville High School -- 150
Clifford Pierce Middle School -88
Merrillville Intermediate Sch - 54
Fieler Elementary School - 22
Iddings Elementary School -28
Miller Elementary School -- 13
Salk Elementary School -- 53
Wood Elementary School -- 12
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54% of people rate the education students
receive as above average or excellent
65% of people feel that MCSC students are
academically challenged
67% of people feel that MCSC has high
expectations and standards for every student.
75% of people agree or strongly agree that
students feel safe within MCSC schools
Comments? Questions?
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Prepared by
Pat Maunsell & Eva Moon
M2 Communications