Preface

This entry plan report is the culmination of observations, document reviews, survey results, and conversations with various constituents of the Methacton community in my capacity as Superintendent of Schools for the Methacton School District from September 2013 through October 30, 2014. The survey results are summarized and are included with this report. This report shall be considered within the context of my 20 Years of professional experience as a school leader. The focus of this report was to present to the Board of School Directors and the public, a vision for Methacton School District for the next 3 years.
I wish to thank everyone who contributed in ways both large and small to this process by planning meetings, by the completion of surveys, by attendance at community forums, or by sending me an email to make me aware of a concern or to share a compliment.

For that, you all have my heartfelt and most sincere thanks.

Dr. David Zerbe

Superintendent of Schools

Methacton Today

As a public school system, Methacton School District operates eight school buildings from half-day kindergarten through grade 12. District enrollment is approximately 5,000 students. Methacton School District historically performs much better than the state average on standardized exams such as the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment). The performance data for the district is provided for review in the 2013-2014 School Data Portfolio located at www.methacton.org/dataportfolio.

The Methacton School District is funded by local property taxes, state, federal, and grant funds. The 2014-2015 Methacton School District budget is $99,557,372.00. The district receives about 19% of its funding from the state, about 2 % from federal and grant funds with the remaining funds coming from local property taxes in this largely residential community.
Our Community

The Methacton community is strong, is highly supportive of its public school system, and its community members have demonstrated a commitment to their children by actively supporting teachers and school activities. Evidence of this strong and supportive community is seen through participation in activities such as the annual Methacton High School Post Prom event, numerous events sponsored by the 501(c)(3) Education Foundation for the Methacton Community organization, the student organized Mini Thon event, as well as many other volunteer and fundraising activities.

Partnerships exist between the district, Lower Providence Township and Worcester Township. There exists a strong cultural and spiritual presence in the community as well. There is observable acceptance of diverse faiths or means of worship and the community is healthy, varied, and is observably tolerant of each other in ways that are socially acceptable. Methacton community members have mobility and access to a well-rounded, diverse quality of life.
Our Facilities, Our Staff, Our Board, and Our Students

The Methacton School District’s physical facilities are in good to excellent condition. The district is embarking on a 5.7 million dollar athletic field renovation project on the high school campus. The district is considering energy savings reinvestment or performance contracting as a means to realize needed energy savings and to help offset costs of future capital improvements.

The district employs approximately 670 staff in one of five employee groups including: Methacton Education Association; Methacton Administrators Organization; Teamsters; Methacton Education Support Professional Association; and confidential employees. The MAO group and the confidential staff are the only two employee groups not represented by organized labor. The district sub-contracts food service and transportation services with private vendors.

Our faculty and staff hold positions of leadership, many have national board certifications, are regular Advanced Placement exam table leaders, and make lecture before colleagues at national conferences. Our staff leads by example while raising the bar for their students each and every day.

The Methacton Board of School Directors has historically been a strong and supportive representation of the community’s constituent groups. The current Board of School Directors are well-suited to propel Methacton forward in a fiscally responsible and educationally relevant manner.

Methacton students continue to exhibit success as seen through several students obtaining perfect SAT scores and the Methacton School District receiving the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s 13th highest School Performance Profile score. Methacton High School captured 6 PAC-10 Championships and 3 District 1 titles, a single school year accomplishment. Members of the Class of 2014 earned scholarships and grant money in excess of $16.4 million to further their post-secondary school education.
Our Programs

The district is focused on completing the alignment of its curriculum with the PA-Core; moving all departments towards using a standard curriculum framework; and updating the written curriculum. Our professional staff are doing a great job. We need to coordinate data-driven decision making processes. Creating a data driven decision making culture within the organization is critical in order to take the district to the next level. We plan to accomplish this in part by developing common language and assessments, examining our teaching practices, and coordinating K-12 articulation opportunities.

Methacton’s curriculum focuses on providing a core foundation of knowledge and prepares students for success by incorporating character education, utilizing various teacher teaming methodologies, incorporating supplemental resources, and providing a high level of rigor with an assortment of course offerings. This is designed to prepare students for college, career, and life after high school. The Methacton School District offers a wide variety of extra-curricular programs for students of all ages including PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) sports, theater/arts/band/music offerings, and numerous clubs.
Our Finances

The financial health of our public school organization is paramount to the future of our community. Our ability to accomplish our vision for the future is commensurate with our ability to manage our finances. The current economic climate necessitates the need for us to be flexible and to continue to challenge the status quo with regard to both spending and revenues, in order to provide the quality of education our community expects.

The Methacton School District is a $100 million dollar operation. The administration and the Board of School Directors must work together to address challenges such as rising retirement costs and healthcare costs, to name a few. The forecast suggests that our current spending is not supported by our projected revenues. The Methacton School District will need to address this expenditure and revenue issue, along with addressing the capital reserve fund and fund balance, in order to maintain long term financial stability. A 5-year budgetary projection is located on the district website.
The Preferred Future
The preferred future is that pictured environment that is commensurate with our values, beliefs and aspirations for the future. The preferred future takes into account what we know today and how we can best apply our resources in terms of time, money, and people to shape what we prefer to be, how we would like to be perceived, and how we will further redefine ourselves over time.

The preferred future is not a destination, not an ideology, but a picture that changes over time. The preferred future is one that requires reflection on the past, an understanding of our surroundings, and must be revisited periodically to ensure cohesiveness between our current state and our given expectations.

In my observation, students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the Board of School Directors share a similar understanding of what the future can be. There is strong interest in developing a future in which technology is used to support teaching and learning in unique and engaging ways to differentiate instruction. Others see a future where technology and the use of a scientific inquiry-based approach to learning is preferred to promote a culture that opens new and unique opportunities while establishing a focus on Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to prepare our students for tomorrow’s careers.

There exists a disconnect between students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the Board of School Directors as to the ownership for our collective successes and/or failures. This, I suggest, is remedied through deliberate changes in our culture via education, communication, and collaboration. Our organization needs to be responsive and flexible to ongoing shifts in student, staff, organizational, and community needs. Our classrooms must be student-centered and we must inspire a selfish desire for all to take charge of their learning, both students and adults. Learning must become intrinsic and perpetual. I believe that in order to create a culture of lifelong learning, we need to provide time for teachers to work together, to collaborate on student-centered lesson development, where learning is not only pervasive, but competitive, and appealing to all involved. The challenge is for students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the Board of School Directors to be comfortable in allowing for creativity and calculated risk taking where learning from mistakes become equally as valuable as learning from successes.

Educational leader and renowned author Peter F. Drucker suggests that the “best way to predict the future is to create it”. As such, I have taken the culmination of my observations, document reviews, survey results, and conversations with various constituents and have created a vision of our preferred future. I picture the future where the culture of our organization effectively and efficiently leverages technology, is flexible, sustainable, and data-driven; and encourages internal and external participation in the educational decision making process for the betterment of our community. I plan to lead the district over the next 3 years towards implementing the following 3 core objectives:

OBJECTIVE 1

I will lead the development of an organizational culture that leverages technology in operationally and educationally innovative, unique, and effective ways to contribute to the academic growth, career readiness, and lifelong learning model for students.
1. The district will, as part of its efforts to support teachers in differentiating instruction and promoting inclusive practices, develop an online virtual campus environment designed to support students in grades 5-12, parents, and staff. We will establish the high school, Arcola, and Skyview buildings as mobile instructional environments where Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is prevalent and district provided equipment compliments age and subject appropriate integration of technology into the curriculum.
2. The district will extend its course delivery model to include on-line course and hybrid course offerings at Arcola and the high school to address 21st century skills, time deficit barriers, and differentiated instructional practices.
3. The district will extend and organize its communications with all constituents by leveraging social media and other relevant and emerging technologies in order to provide accurate, timely, and relevant information on activities and district/building happenings.
4. The district will maximize the use of college and career readiness resources, including Naviance, to engage students, teachers, and parents starting in the seventh grade.
OBJECTIVE 2

I will lead the development of an organizational culture that is flexible, sustainable, and data-driven.
1. Create staffing resources and working conditions that are responsive to ongoing shifts in student, staff, organizational, community, and societal needs in order to provide relevant, timely, and competitive educational services.
2. Establish a culture of fiscal sustainability and sensibility throughout the organization by communicating a consistent semi-annual message to all staff via email and by holding annual staff budget meetings where I present on the perspectives of sensibility and sustainability and inform all staff on best fiscal practices.
3. Establish a culture of data-driven decision making within the administrative staff to become part of their performance goals.
4. Establish a philosophy whereby no new programs or services will be accepted unless they make an optimal contribution to our mission; the benefits clearly outweigh the costs; and proper financial provisions have been made for staff development and program evaluation. This excludes all State and Federal mandates. This is to be implemented immediately.
5. Establish a philosophy whereby student achievement, facilities, infrastructure, and extra-curricular activities are representative of the expectations of our community and remain highly competitive and attractive in the geographic region.
OBJECTIVE 3

I will lead the development of an organizational culture that encourages internal and external participation in the educational decision making process and addresses the representation of the district within its geographical region for the collective benefit of the community.
1. Create and administer an annual survey to gather feedback from constituents on educational and operational matters of interest and/or concern and provide that feedback.
2. Create and implement the following administrative committees to provide reflective and emerging advice to the administration in order to maintain a pulse on areas of innovation, growth, and needed improvement.
- STEM Academy Development Advisory Committee
- Campus/Building/Facility Improvement Advisory Committee
- Early Intervention Services for Literacy Improvement Advisory

Survey Results

he summary of results from the community, student, and staff survey are available below. The Community Survey was open from January 31, 2014 through February 14, 2014. The Staff Survey was open from February 3, 2014 through February 17, 2014 and the Student (Grades 8-11) Survey was administered to students in school during the month of February 2014.

Community Survey
Student Survey
Staff Survey

Community Survey

As part of my entry plan, I committed to and delivered a survey for community input for the purpose of helping guide the future direction of the district. This survey was advertised through the assistance of the Lower Providence Community Library as well as through multiple means via district communications resources.

The community survey was one of three surveys distributed. The survey had similar questions to that of the two other constituent groups, (students and staff) and consisted of 6 questions and a final comment area. There were 3 open-ended questions and 3 questions with selectable choice responses. The results of the open-ended responses were derived from reading each response and organizing similar responses into themes and then tallying within each theme. Selectable choice response question results were tallied in a manner depicted under each of the three (3) questions of that type to follow.

COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTION 1: WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 923 provided at least 1 response while several respondents had multiple responses to this question. All responses were reviewed and categorized into 1 of 32 themes. The top 10 themes are represented in the table below:

249	Teachers
109	Parents/Community Support
68	Academic Program
65	Extracurricular Activities
56	Arts/Music/Theater Program
54	Reputation/Pride
51	Communication
46	Curriculum
43	Academic choices/Academic Opportunities
33	AP/Honors/Gifted Program

These 10 themes represent 774 of the 1,068 total tallied responses provided or 72% of the total responses. The top response of “Teachers” at 249 were in the form of statements such as “Methacton teachers are the best”; “Teachers”; and “We have great teachers”. It is clear from the community respondents that there is an appreciation for the teaching staff compared to any other thematic area. Nearly 1/3 of the community respondents suggested teachers when identifying strengths.

The remaining 9 themes represent a larger recognition in that the “Teachers” (249) and the “Parents/Community Support” (109) are by far the two highest responses. This data supports observations and conversations that I have had with students, teachers, and parents indicating that our district strength lies in the cooperative and supportive nature of our parents and our teachers.

COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTION 2: WHAT IMPROVEMENTS NEED TO BE MADE IN THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, there were 690 responses. All responses were reviewed and categorized into 1 of 51 themes. The top 10 themes are represented in the table below:

74	Athletic Facilities/Fields/Lights
47	Maintenance of Facilities
44	Improve Performance Review Process
43	Math Program
35	Communications
34	Increase Curricular Rigor
34	Offer Full Day Kindergarten
32	Improve Guidance Services
31	Improve Technology
26	Special Education Program

These 10 themes represent 400 of the 690 total responses provided or 58% of the total responses. The top response of Athletic Facilities/Fields/Lights (74) was in the form of statements such as “Upgrade gymnasium”; “Turf and lights”; “the Arcola Fields are unusable, need to be replaced”; “the high school field and light project is a much needed improvement”. It is clear from the community respondents that there is a concern with the quality of fields on both the Arcola/Skyview campus as well as the high school campus. There were several comments regarding the high school weight room, as well as the main gymnasium, and locker rooms on both Arcola and high school campuses.

The “Improve Performance Review Process” was a combination of comments aimed towards improving teacher, administrator, and student performance appraisals. There were several suggestions towards “although we have many great teachers, we still need a better system to get rid of the ones that are not pulling their weight” to statements like “testing needs to be addressed along with too much emphasis on final exams”.

COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTION 3: WHAT IS YOUR SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 805 provided a response. The available responses are listed within the table below along with their corresponding results:

Extremely Satisfied	9%
Very Satisfied	44%
Somewhat Satisfied	32%
Slightly Satisfied	9%
Not at all Satisfied	6%

In review of these results, there were 48 respondents that were “Not at all Satisfied” compared to the opposite extreme of nearly 73 “Extremely Satisfied.” Overall, 53% of respondents were very satisfied or better with the Methacton School District as compared to 15% of respondents being slightly or not at all satisfied with the district.

COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTION 4: WHAT BUSINESS/COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS SHOULD THE DISTRICT SEEK TO PROVIDE ENHANCED OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. There were 423 responses categorized into 1 of 67 themes. The top 10 themes are represented below. These 10 themes represent 72% or 303 of the total responses to this question.

83	Mentoring/Internships
56	STEM/Technology/Pharmaceutical/Engineering Companies
39	Increase Student Community Service
20	Career Days/Speakers
26	Partner with youth/service organizations
24	Partnership with Ursinus/Other Colleges/Universities
15	Increase access/focus on Career Education
14	Donations from businesses (local and national)
12	County/local Government/Townships
14	Naming Rights/Advertising Opportunities

These responses suggest that the district should be partnering more than what it does today or has in the past. It may suggest that respondents are not aware of the ways in which the district currently partners. In any event, it is recommended that partnering via mentoring and internship programs are highly favored.

In terms of partnerships with specific types of companies and for specific types of benefits, the “STEM/Technology/Pharmaceutical/Engineering Companies” (56) is consistent with my conversations with students, teachers, and parents during this entry plan period.

COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTION 5: WHAT FIVE INDICATORS BEST DESCRIBE A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 743 provided responses by selecting 5 indicators from the 19 available indicators. The top 5 indicators overall are listed within the table below with their corresponding values:

Students are taught by highly qualified teachers.	395
Students receive thought provoking, career relevant, and challenging content.	329
Students have access to a wide variety of academic options.	312
Students become life-long learners.	303
Students’ unique talents/traits are developed.	287

Respondents were required to check no more than 5 boxes from the available 19 choices describing a successful school. There were 3,715 total responses with each of the 19 available indicators being selected at less than 43 times. The results show that 53% of the 743 respondents selected “Students are taught by highly qualified teachers” as 1 of their 5 options. It should be known that the available indicators were consistent from survey to survey, but were randomly presented to reduce the likelihood of sequential error in the survey. The fact that there is a strong belief in having “students taught by highly qualified teachers” (53%) along with our “Teachers” (249) being our greatest strength, as defined by the community, represents a significant undertone of quality and appreciation for the work of our teachers.

COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTION 6: WHAT PRIORITY LEVEL SHALL THE DISTRICT GIVE TO IMPROVEMENT IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 714 provided a response. This question sought to have respondents place each of the 22 available options into 1 of three possible priorities. Results were tabulated by assigning a value of 3 to each high priority, a value of 2 for medium, and a 1 for low priority. Each result was tabulated and the median score accompanies the results below:

2.71	Core Academic Programs
2.66	STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
2.58	Student Access to Technology
2.58	School and Campus Security and Safety
2.54	Technology in the Classroom
2.53	Information, Communication, and Technology Literacy
2.52	Career Readiness/Preparedness
2.43	Academic Electives
2.38	Financial, Economic, Business, and Entrepreneurial Literacy
2.33	Business/Parental/Community Engagement

The top 10 high priority results are listed above. These suggest that the Core Academic Programs (2.71 out of 3 possible) shall have the highest priority by the district as compared to full-day kindergarten (2.04 out of 3). The “Core Academic Programs” (2.71) was the highest priority, looking at the remaining 9 themes we see many with a relationship to a broader theme in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

COMMUNITY SURVEY LAST QUESTION: ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS SURVEY?

There were a total of 978 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 242 provided additional thoughts or comments. This question sought to have the respondent give any additional comments or thoughts as they saw fit. The results were reviewed and placed into 58 themes. The top 10 themes with tabulations listed below:

15	Methacton is Great
13	Improve Academic Rigor
12	Improve Instruction
11	Improve/Refocus Curriculum
10	Reduce Focus on Testing
10	Implement Full Day Kindergarten
10	Increase Technology
9	Improve Bullying Prevention Program
9	Increase Career Education Programming
8	Improve Math Program

The results here represent 107 of the additional thoughts from the total of 242 responses or 44%. There was no one theme that stood out among the entire group.

Student Survey

STUDENT SURVEY QUESTION 1: WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 1,159 respondents to the student survey. Students in grades 8 through 11 were provided the survey during the course selection process at MHS. From the total respondents, there were 1,282 responses provided with several respondents having multiple responses to this question. All responses were reviewed and categorized into 1 of 44 themes. The top 10 themes are represented in the table below:

360	Good Teachers
159	Athletics
107	Clubs/Activities
98	Good Education/Academic Program/Curriculum
97	Variety of Course Electives
56	Music/Band/Chorus/Orchestra/Arts/Theater Programs
50	Student Body
35	College Preparation/Honors and AP Classes
31	Friendly environment
30	Good technology

The top 10 themes represent 80% or 1,023 out of 1,282 of the total responses. These results are similar to the results from the community survey for this same question. Students also recognized athletics, activities and Music/Band/Chorus/Orchestra/Arts/Theater Programs as district strengths.

STUDENT SURVEY QUESTION 2: WHAT IMPROVEMENTS NEED TO BE MADE IN THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 1,159 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 1,036 responses were provided with several respondents having multiple responses to this question. All responses were reviewed and categorized into 1 of 38 themes. The top 10 themes with corresponding tallies are represented in the table below:

215	School Café Food
99	Daily High School Schedule
95	New Fields/Lights/Track
71	Better Teachers
60	Better/More Technology
39	Classroom/Teaching Climate
36	More Course Offerings
33	Building Upkeep
31	Less Homework
29	Better Busses/Transportation

These 10 themes represent 708 of the 1,036 total responses provided or 68% of the total responses. The top response of School Café Food (215) was a highly prevalent theme observed. This theme incorporated concern for quality of food, available choices, serving lines being too long, not enough time for lunch, too many healthy options and not enough healthy options. There were statements regarding the need for “New Fields/Lights/Track” at the high school and that the Arcola fields are in terrible shape. Statements like “we need turf and lights;” and the Arcola fields are like playing on a bed of rocks” to the “track is in need of many repairs”. Interestingly, one of the top ten themes related to the upkeep of the building. Statements here suggested better care of the hallways and cleanliness of classrooms is needed.

STUDENT SURVEY QUESTION 3: WHAT IS YOUR SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 1,159 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 1,133 provided a response. The available responses are listed within the table below along with their corresponding results:

Extremely Satisfied	5%
Very Satisfied	51%
Somewhat Satisfied	34%
Slightly Satisfied	7%
Not at all Satisfied	3%

In review of these results, there were 30 respondents that were “Not at all Satisfied” compared to the opposite extreme of 59 “Extremely Satisfied.” Overall, 56% of respondents were very satisfied or better with the Methacton School District as compared to 10% of respondents being slightly or not at all satisfied with the district.

STUDENT SURVEY QUESTION 4: WHAT FIVE INDICATORS BEST DESCRIBE A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 1,159 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 1,123 provided responses by selecting 5 indicators from the 19 available indicators. The top 5 indicators overall are listed within the table below along with their corresponding values:

Students have access to a wide variety of activities.	520
Students have access to a wide variety of academic options.	503
Students are prepared to enter career of choice.	432
Students are taught by highly qualified teachers.	416
Student earn acceptance to college of choice.	410

The top 5 indicators of a successful school district as seen through the eyes of our 8^th-11^th grade students suggests a wide variety of activities are important while the remaining top themes all have to do with choice as it relates to academic options, career preparation, and college. It appears that these responses are telling us that our students want to learn and want a variety of experiences.

STUDENT SURVEY QUESTION 5: WHAT PRIORITY LEVEL SHALL THE DISTRICT GIVE TO IMPROVEMENT IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS?

There were a total of 1,159 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 1,088 provided a response. This question sought to have the respondent place each of the 22 available options into 1 of three priorities. Results were tabulated by assigning a value of 3 to each high priority, a value of 2 for medium, and a 1 for low priority. Each result was tabulated and the median score accompanies the results below:

2.47	Student Activities
2.46	Career Readiness/Preparedness
2.40	Student Access to Technology
2.37	Academic Electives
2.36	Technology in the Classroom
2.35	Facilities (Gymnasiums, Fields, Buildings, Grounds) Improvements
2.34	Core Academic Programs
2.34	After School Programs for Enrichment and Academic Support
2.29	Athletic Programs (PIAA)
2.26	School and Campus Security and Safety

The top 10 improvements identified above along with student responses to Question 2 “What improvements need to be made…” suggest a successful school that not only needs student activities, but suggests that those activities may need improvement. There is evidence that improvements to facilities including gymnasiums, fields, buildings, and grounds are a consistent theme.

STUDENT SURVEY LAST QUESTION: ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS SURVEY?

There were a total of 1,159 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 181 additional thoughts or comments were provided. This question sought to have the respondents give any additional comments or thoughts as they saw fit. The results were reviewed and placed into 32 themes. The top 10 themes with tabulations are listed below:

24	Better Café Food
24	Improve Fields/Track/Lights
22	Methacton is Great School
19	Improve High School Schedule
11	More Afterschool Activities/Athletics
9	More Technology
9	Improve Instruction
7	Improve Classroom Climate
5	Increase Parking
5	Improve Facilities

Staff Survey

STAFF SURVEY QUESTION 1: WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents there were 653 responses tallied while several respondents had multiple responses to this question. All responses were reviewed and categorized into 1 of 29 themes. The top 10 themes are represented in the table below:

171	Teachers
69	Supportive Families
67	Students
58	Staff and Faculty
54	Curriculum/Academic Program
34	Community
28	Leadership/Administration
20	Extracurricular Activities
19	Reputation/Pride
16	Resources

The top 10 responses are representative of 536 of the total 653 responses or 82%. Consistent in all three surveys - community, student, and staff - was the fact that teachers were identified as the strength of the district. The staff recognized the support of parents and families in the Methacton community.

STAFF SURVEY QUESTION 2: WHAT IMPROVEMENTS NEED TO BE MADE IN THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, there were 358 responses provided with several respondents having multiple responses to this question. All responses were reviewed and categorized into 1 of 36 themes. The top 10 themes are represented in the table below:

52	Communication Between Administration and Staff
37	Technology Use
29	Consistency and Standardization
25	Professional Development Offerings
24	Collaborative Decision Making
23	Morale
21	Special Education Program
18	Maintenance of Buildings
16	Administration Visibility
15	Athletic Facilities

These 10 themes represent 260 of the 358 total responses provided or 73% of the total responses. The top response of “Communication between Administration and Staff” (52) is further clarified by statements like “The administration should seek teacher input before implementing programs”; “We never know what’s going on until the last minute”; and “we should work together to strengthen the district”. Some suggested a lack of administrative visibility.

STAFF SURVEY QUESTION 3: WHAT IS YOUR SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THE METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 307 provided a response. The available responses are listed within the table below along with their corresponding results:

Extremely Satisfied	10%
Very Satisfied	48%
Somewhat Satisfied	36%
Slightly Satisfied	5%
Not at all Satisfied	1%

In review of these results, there were 4 respondents that were “Not at all Satisfied” compared to the opposite extreme of nearly 30 that were ”Extremely Satisfied”. Overall, 58% of respondents were very satisfied or better with the Methacton School District as compared to 6% of respondents being slightly or not at all satisfied with the district.

STAFF SURVEY QUESTION 4: WHAT BUSINESS/COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS SHOULD THE DISTRICT SEEK TO PROVIDE ENHANCED OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 120 responses were provided. The responses were organized into 1 of 28 themes. The top 10 themes are listed in the table below along with their corresponding results:

24	Internship/Job Shadowing/Mentoring Programs
14	Civic Organizations
11	Senior Citizen Centers/Retired Educators
10	College/University Extension Programs
10	Community Service Expansion
7	Partnerships with Health/Fitness Clubs/Organizations
7	Technology Partnerships
4	Guest Speaker Network
4	Library
4	Business Development Partnership

These results suggest similar findings from the other survey constituent groups. Internships, volunteer opportunities with civic organizations and community service are prevalent.

STAFF SURVEY QUESTION 5: WHAT FIVE INDICATORS BEST DESCRIBE A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL DISTRICT?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 291 provided responses. The top 5 indicators from the 19 available indicators are listed within the table below along with their corresponding results:

Students become life-long learners.	196
Student learn to respect diversity and work with others.	142
Students receive thought provoking, career relevant, and challenging content.	129
Students have access to a wide variety of academic options.	127
Students are taught by highly qualified teachers.	125

The table above indicates that 67% of respondents selected “Students become life-long learners” as one of their top 5 indicators. It was interesting that this is the only survey group that had “Students learn to respect diversity and work with others” in the top 5 indicators.

STAFF SURVEY QUESTION 6: WHAT PRIORITY LEVEL SHALL THE DISTRICT GIVE TO IMPROVEMENT IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. From the total respondents, 286 provided a response. This questions sought to have the respondents place each of the 22 available options into 1 of three priorities. Results were tabulated by assigning a value of 3 to each high priority, a value of 2 for medium, and a 1 for low priority. Each result was then tabulated and the median score accompanies the results below:

2.67	Core Academic Programs
2.66	Student Access to Technology
2.65	Career Readiness/Preparedness
2.64	Technology in the Classroom
2.61	School and Campus Security and Safety
2.57	Information, Communication, and Technology Literacy
2.51	STEM
2.45	Mental and Physical Health Support Services
2.40	Character Education
2.36	Health, Physical Education, and Wellness

Most interesting in these results is the priority that teachers assigned to technology access. This may be an indication that our teachers desire to utilize technology to a greater degree than they currently do. It is equally interesting that of the top 4 priorities, use and access to technology accounts for 2 of them.

STAFF SURVEY LAST QUESTION: ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS SURVEY?

There were a total of 341 respondents to the survey. This question sought to have the respondent give any additional comments or thoughts as they saw fit. The results were reviewed and placed into 1 of 35 themes. The top 10 themes with tabulations listed below:

13	Methacton is great
11	Clear vision is needed
9	Math program needs improvement
8	Include teachers in decisions
7	Administration needs improvement
5	RtII needs development/improvement
5	Improve professional development program/in-service schedule
5	Career education
5	Elementary gifted program needs improvement
5	Facilities maintenance

Methacton School District

Methacton School District

Departments

Page Navigation

Methacton Today

Our Community

Our Facilities, Our Staff, Our Board, and Our Students

Our Programs

Our Finances

The Preferred Future

Survey Results

Address

Phone

Fax