Dist. 203 looking for your ideas on schools

Naperville Unit District 203 is on a mission to get some feedback.

Throughout the month, the district will be surveying students, staff, parents and alumni to find out whether there are gaps between how well they feel the district's mission statement is being put into action.

The district's mission "is to educate students to be self-directed learners, collaborative workers, complex thinkers, quality producers and community contributors."

The new survey, which includes about 50 questions, will try to get to the heart of how important each of these five areas is, whether District 203 schools are helping students grow in each area and whether students are living out each area, according to David Chiszar, director of assessment.

Students and staff already have started taking the survey and an Internet link will be e-mailed to parents and alumni.

With a potential for 20,000-plus respondents, officials are asking that surveys be taken during specific dates to avoid technical problems.

The targeted time frame for taking high school surveys is now through Sunday, junior high surveys and alumni surveys are Monday through May 17 and elementary surveys (grades four and five only) are May 18 to 30.

Parents of multiple children can either fill out one survey based on their oldest child, fill out a survey for each school their children attend or fill out a survey for each child.

Chiszar said he is especially excited for the alumni surveys, which will help the district learn how its mission translates into the world beyond District 203 as students head into college and careers.

"I don't think we're going to see a big disconnect. If we do, that's something we're doing to need to deal with and consider," Chiszar said. "It's helping make the connection that this (mission) isn't just about school stuff, it's lifelong."

The survey findings will be used in the staff's annual data retreats over the summer and a formal report will be presented to the school board before classes begin in August.

Chiszar asks that anyone having technical difficulties with the survey send an e-mail to missionsurvey@naperville203.org with the time the problem occurred and type of survey they were completing.