Page 2 - Priorities #11 1999-October Annual Report

From the Headmaster
As the cover to this Annual
Report indicates, we see
plenty of positive signs
about our school - maybe not as
literal as a billboard but evident
within our campus life. The
captions throughout this issue
summarize these signs — goals
and achievements for the year past andplansfortheyearahead. It
was a challenging year, with a
strategic plan and an accreditation
self-study to complete, a
reorganization of our course
structure to manage, and - happily - an enthusiastic, capable student body that constantly asked us to give them more challenges in all areas of campus life.
One inevitable outcome of a self-study year is the desire to jump in and make changes. Many comments and many ideas are generated, and they all have merit. With limited time and resources, we want to concentrate on the issues that really matter.
Faculty views are easily obtained. Teachers are the main participants in the self-studies. Also, the academic committee system here is designed to assure ongoing faculty review of their/our work.
We wanted a more formal method of obtaining student and parent views. We turned to Pacific Consulting Group (PCG) to help us design a survey that would tell us two things: first, how these groups feel about key aspects of Priory education, and, second, where the school might make changes to increase their satisfaction. Surveys were mailed to parents last June. PCG specializes in interpreting survey data to provide this information. In other words, the report is more than a simple numerical tally.
The survey also included a sampling of graduates
of the past five years. It is informational but, because of the small response, not necessarily representative of the entire alumni group. Also, their survey reflects their view of the campus as it was when they attended.
Here’s what we learned:
• Main Strengths: All three groups gave their highest ranking to “warmfamilyatmosphereof the school environment, the professionalism and dedication of the teachers, and the strong
preparationinacademicsubjects.” (Thequoteis from the report.)
• Areas of Most Satisfaction: Academics, faculty and school community are students’ and parents’ highest areas of satisfaction. Students also included athletics in their highest rankings.
• Different Priorities: Parents and students have different priorities for change. Parents want more attention to college counseling, and continued focus on faculty and school culture/discipline. Students want more opportunity for individual spiritual and personal development. They also want more attention to athletics, clubs and activities, and a more effective Associated Student Body.
• Alumni: The alumni who responded were the most satisfied of the three groups. Their overall satisfactiontranslatedto6.3onascaleof 7.Parents’ overall satisfaction was 5.89 and students’ was 5.33. This translates roughly to an A-, a B+ and a fairly high B. These are very good marks for a school, according to PCG.
This survey is just one of many pieces of information generated for our strategic plan and our accreditation review with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Many other factors are considered when we propose changes. Nevertheless, some changes have already taken place.
For example, our new schedule addresses preferences of both students and parents. Extended
One inevitable outcome of a self-study year is the desire to jump in and make changes.
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