The Arthur 305 Task Force wants to thank you for your participation and contribution to the ThoughtExchange process. This was a major topic of discussion at our 2nd meeting held Thursday, December 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Here are some high points that I would like to share with you from the ThoughtExchange report:
We started the Exchange with this question: “Arthur CUSD 305 is seeking your input on things to consider as we begin to develop our long-term facilities plan. What kinds of facility improvements would you like to see made to school districts and classrooms?”
We had 636 total participants, of whom 37% shared thoughts. Remember, this was a three-part process:
Share-- participants shared an idea or response to the question.
Star—a participant then “starred” the thoughts s/he liked.
Discover-- participants could view how others rated the ideas and see emerging themes.
In total, there were 35,505 ratings accumulated.
The breakdown of participants was as follows:
61% identified as being a current district parent/family member
30% indicated they are a current employee of the district
26% indicated they are a current student
81% of the participants are residents of the district
HVAC concerns had the highest average “Star” rating
Gyms/Athletics/Auditoriums had the greatest frequency of thoughts, but were not noted as Important as the HVAC ISSUE. So they appeared slightly more often, but not starred as much.
In fact, Science & Technology issues, Bathrooms, High School Improvements, Academic Considerations, and Elementary & Middle School Improvements, while not as frequently mentioned as the Gyms/Athletics/Auditoriums, were all rated as more Important by participants.
Air conditioning/air quality was the most important theme of all groups-- Students, parents, staff and residents-- when data was disaggregated. Science/Technology and was the next most important issue of all four groups.
Here is a Live Link where you can view results of the Exchange. The Task Force will continue to develop ways to engage members of our school community in meaningful ways before making a recommendation to the Board of Education later on in the Spring of 2021 with some strategic planning components to help shape the future of our District. Thank you again for your responsiveness to the process!
Shannon Cheek, Superintendent