Here is a short breakdown on the 504 surveys.  The surveys were done on the Westside of Chicago in the geographical area bounded on the west by Cicero Avenue; on the east by Sacramento Blvd; on the north by North Avenue; and on the south by the Eisenhower Expy.  The surveyors went door-to-door with the goal of identifying parents of 6^th through 12^th grade students that might participate in a future dialogue about quality school reform models.

Once the surveys were completed, the data was entered into Survey Monkey for analysis. The PDF is a summary of the results.  For analysis purposes, we added additional slots for answers in the Survey Monkey tool.  Therefore, the numbers on the actual survey in WORD do not EXACTLY coordinate with the PDF version of the survey.  This paper bridges the PDF and WORD version of the survey.  But, please note that this is still only a preliminary analysis of those results.

Based on the Survey Monkey PDF version, the results were as follows:

1.       List the four groups that did the surveys

2.      Captures the name of the surveyor (not listed on the PDF)

3.      Date survey completed

4.      Shows that 60% of those surveyed have lived in the community for more than 5 years.

 

5.      Of those surveyed, 432 were parents, grandparents, or caretakers of 6^th through 12^th grade students on the Westside of Chicago.

 

6.      We do have the grades and school attended for each household that stated they had children in school.  This info is reflected in an Excel spreadsheet.

 

7.      Some respondents had children in lower grades as well (270 respondents)

 

8.      We do have the grades and school attended for each household that stated they had children in lower grades.  This info is also reflected in an Excel spreadsheet.

 

9.      Nearly 100% of the respondents noted that it was important or very important for their child to finish high school.

 

10. Of note, approximately 77% of the respondents reported that they were asked to come to the school to discuss their child’s progress; nearly half were told their children were not doing well; but only a third were told that the school itself was not doing well.  (Most parents do not know that their children are not doing well and less than that know that the school is not doing well)

 

11. Nearly 60% reported that they did not know that under NCLB most schools in the community could be closed.

 

12.  Approximately 37% of respondents reportedly volunteer in the schools in some capacity.

 

13. Most volunteer in the classroom

 

14.  Nearly 75% said public safety in the schools was a problem or a serious problem.

 

15.  However, only 23% said they had received a letter or some other form of notification of about the public safety issues at the school.

 

16. Of those that were notified, 72% said they received that notification from school officials.

 

17. Nearly 80% felt people in the community were concerned about school improvements.

 

18. Most (61%) had heard about the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 before we surveyed hem.

 

19. Nearly 96% of the respondents want to be kept informed about the new changes coming to schools in their community.

 

20.  Nearly all respondents (98%) believe parents should be included/consulted about changes in the local schools

 

21. Approximately 85% were interested in sharing their ideas about local schools in a discussion with other parents from the community.

 

22. Only 20% knew of any residents in the community who speak out about what is happening in the schools.

 

23. Most respondents knew the name of those that spoke out about school reform.

 

24.  Only 1% of respondents believed it was not important to have first-class high school in this neighborhood.

 

25. Surveyors collected the name and address of 95% of the respondents.