Opinion poll indicates satisfaction with WW-P system

Some areas for improvement identified.

By: Gwen Runkle
   The results of the much-delayed West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District’s community survey are finally in and show that the vast majority of district parents, students, teachers and alumni are satisfied with the school system.
   The survey, conducted by International Communications Research, a market-research company from Media, Pa., featured a Web-based questionnaire with follow-up phone interviews. The survey cost about $20,000 to complete.
   "Overall, the results show a pretty high level of satisfaction in instruction, teachers, really all aspects of education and extracurricular activities," said Michelle Epstein, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education member and chair of the board’s Ad Hoc Survey Committee.
   "That’s not to say there aren’t any areas that could use some improvement," she continued. "Now we’ve got to digest all the information and look at what we can do to respond."
   Victor Crain, a vice president at International Communications Research, presented the survey’s results to the school board Tuesday night.
   He pointed out both the strengths and weaknesses of the district as highlighted by the parents, teachers, students and alumni surveyed.
   He said the district’s curriculum, expert and motivated teachers, diverse student body, commitment to technology, nonviolent atmosphere and broad array of electives and extracurricular activities were all noted strengths of the district.
   Areas in need of improvement include a lack of uniform grading standards across classes covering the same material; understaffed guidance services, particularly at the high school level; inconsistent homework loads across classes; lack of consideration of community input; and lack of visibility and access to district administrators.
   Competitive pressure, substance abuse, smoking and whether mixed-ability classrooms actually meet the needs of children with different abilities were also areas of concern, along with the sufficiency of the training of substitute teachers and uncomfortable classroom temperatures.
   "There weren’t any big surprises," said Stan Katz, a school board member. "But it is interesting to see what the community sees is working and what needs improvement."
   Planning for the survey began in May 2001 and the survey itself got under way in November 2002. Results were originally expected in January 2003, but low initial response rates and delays in scoring the results held up the survey’s completion.
   Overall, 719 parents of 1,500 selected at random responded to the survey, as did 138 of 767 teachers, 92 of 577 high school seniors and 22 of 236 alumni.
   "We were very impressed with the number of parents and teachers that responded," Ms. Epstein said. "We would have liked more high school seniors and particularly alumni, but their information is still valuable.
   "The survey should really be helpful to both the new superintendent and as background to our upcoming strategic planning effort," she added.
   The school board is currently working on selecting a new superintendent. The current superintendent, John Fitzsimons, is leaving the job June 30.
   A full copy of the community survey can be viewed on the district’s Web site www.ww-p.org.