PITTSBURGH -- The North Hills School District held its first Flexible Instructional Day on Friday, Feb. 7 and the following week, a survey was sent to families.
Nearly 1,500 people have responded to the survey to date and the feedback has been largely positive.
Respondents were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "Strongly Disagree" to 5 being "Strongly Agree," the following statements:
- A Flexible Instructional Day is an appropriate option to school cancellation.
- The amount of time my student spent on the instructional activities was appropriate.
- The instructional activities were appropriate for my student.
- The school district communication regarding the Flexible Instructional Day was appropriate.
- My student was prepared to take part in the Flexible Instructional Day.
In all of the above, 74 percent or more of the respondents strongly agreed (5) or agreed (4) with the statements.
The survey also asked a question to gauge whether the red FID bags sent home with K-4 students in January were utilized. Results showed most families did use the printed assignments in the bag. Only 15 percent reported they accessed the K-4 assignments solely online.
Slides of each survey result can be viewed below.
We also asked for open-ended comments and suggestions. District administrators will be reviewing all comments and making adjustments and improvements to the Flexible Instructional Day program as necessary.
"We will take the data that we received and really look at what we did well and what are some areas we need to go back and take a look at,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Beth Williams.
She presented the survey results to the North Hills School District Board of Education at February's Legislative Meeting.
The nearly 1,500 responses were evenly split among high school, middle school and elementary school families and among grade levels. More than 300 responses pertained to high school students, approximately 200 to middle school students and more than 900 hundred to elementary students.
The survey will remain open through Monday, Feb. 24.
A survey was also sent to school district teachers seeking feedback.
Attendance
Another positive takeaway from the district's first FID was the attendance rate. The average attendance rate across the district for the 2019-20 first semester was 96 percent. The districtwide attendance rate on Feb. 7, 2020 was 95.9 percent.
