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E-mail Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > April > 09 > Entry
Satisfaction with DPS at nine-year high
(Then-third grader Sierra Downey holds a brick at a ceremony in 2005 marking a construction milestone at Kiser Elementary School)
The opening of seven new schools the past two years across the city has helped lift public perception of the school district’s quality to a nine-year high in a new survey. The survey, conducted by Wright State University’s Center for Urban and Public Affairs in six of the past nine years, mostly examines residents’ perceptions of the city but includes a few questions about schools.
When respondents were asked to rate the quality of the district, 31.3 percent said it was “excellent” or “good.” That’s the highest rating since the survey began, when 29.6 percent rated the district that high in 1997. Confidence fell, however, to a low of 24.1 percent in 2001 following a major financial crisis.
The study’s authors said the seven-point gain was statistically significant and reported many respondents cited the construction of new schools when asked why they felt the schools were doing well. Seven new schools have opened in the past three years and eight more will open by the end of next school year under the district’s construction program.
“It is indeed an improvement over the most recent surveys we’ve had over the past 10 years,” Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce President Phil Parker said. “It’s good that there is a perception out there that we are finally moving to neighborhood schools. That’s what people tell us they want.”
Superintendent Percy Mack said the district clearly has work to do to raise the number even higher — 68.7 percent rated the district “fair” or “poor” — but he said a three-survey trend showing more confidence in the district is an unmistakable signal that the public believes Dayton schools are doing better.
“Our whole team — staff and students and everybody — has been working very hard to turn around the perception of the district,” he said. “I am excited for everybody. That’s a trend you want to have. Hopefully it will continue to grow for us.”
In 2002, city voters overwhelmingly approved a bond issue to raise $245 million for the local share of a $627 million state and locally funded program to rebuild Dayton’s schools. Mack said the feedback on the new schools had been positive.
“We’ve had record numbers of people at our open houses to see the schools their taxes are paying for and they’ve had very good reviews,” he said.
The survey was conducted in late 2007, after last year’s defeat of a 15.17-mill operating levy and $30 million in program cuts that followed. A new levy try is expected this fall.
Parker said a smaller levy might have done better last year and that the survey shows the public sees improvement in the schools. And that is a good sign for the city.
“You can’t have a great city and not have good to great schools,” he said. “It just doesn’t happen.”
(Image credit: Ty Greenlees, DDN)
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
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By Avoice
April 15, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
So Scott, with satisfaction at DPS at such a high level tell us how you will feel sending your children to Dayton Public Schools considering all of the past years input from DPS teachers and parents? (Perhaps all of the accolades and awards via the blogs have put you in the position of a new job and location?) Would it motivate you to really seek out the truth or will you continue to let threads die because Ludlow doesn�t want you to get information? What kind of school system places ED students in inappropriate situations? What kind of school system writes IEPs with vague and misleading language? What kind of school system expels students only to have them enroll in another Dayton Public School ? What kind of school system has more than 25 kindergarten students in an all day class? What kind of school system stonewalls parents and teachers from seeing all those downtown administrators? What kind of school system has more security for adults rather than children? What kind of school system is going to higher more education specialists instead of teachers during this financial crisis? What kind of a school system has a human resource manager with several secretaries that refused to see his teachers? What kind of school system fires long-term professional staff members with a form letter? What kind of school system has teacher resources that are only open when teachers are supposed to be teaching students? What kind of school system has multiple levels of administrators that are not involved with teaching children? What kind of school system sends administrators to workshops designed for teacher instruction but do not send any teachers? What kind of school system provides material for adults that do not work with children first, then if any materials are left they will distribute it to the schools? What kind of school system has two board offices? I know what kind of school system, a system that has been hiding behind multiple levels of bureaucracy, �The Dayton Public School System.� Sounds like a good system to me.
By Caroline
April 13, 2008 7:26 PM | Link to this
So, you give people new, polished buildings, and they are happy? I guess, as long as they have a new gym, and computer labs, that’s enough. The discipline at the schools gets more and more lax, which makes it more difficult to learn. Well, at least the buildings are new!!!
By Laura
April 10, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this
“Upset and tired” is telling the truth. I have had some of the mentioned issues in the past, including arsonists, students who have assaulted other children and adults, children who have rap sheets a mile long and this year have one who is not a violent threat to the other children but does not belong in a regular ed classroom as the child takes far too much attention away from the other students. The child cannot do any grade-level work independently and is barely able to communicate. Since the only classroom para is busy with other children, other classmates spend a lot of time assisting the child or the child does nothing.
By Avoice
April 10, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this
I have no doubt that some people feel that new buildings make the difference. I especially love the Mack quote, �has been working very hard to turn around the perception of the district� I know that that perception is everything, it is never about substance. Too bad the Ohio Local Report Cards and the various Ohio school ranking sites show us at the bottom. I wonder how local realtors feel about this great new news? I am sure that they will share this 1.7 percent increase in the feel good factor with all of their clients.
By Scott Elliott
April 10, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this
I’ll put the questions and some of the demographic data from the survey up later today.
By sarah
April 10, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
I would like to see the questions asked and the order of the questions. I also would like to see the area breakdowns or the demographics. As for expections having lowered that could be because the charter schools haven’t raised the level or performance to that of the DPS performance as they promised to do. And they’ve left the special kids out of their schools for DPS and others to handle—too tough for them to meet those higher expectations Husted et al have of the charters, hee hee. But to get past the biased procharter folk, let’s see the demographics and leadup questions. I have a suspicion they are well done and give a good survey. If only management at DPS put personnel and money into the classroom instead of the ivory tower. Time to clean out the Ludlow Towers folks.
By cal
April 10, 2008 7:45 AM | Link to this
It would also be cool to see the questions that were asked, the demographics and whether charter schools were included.
By Janice
April 10, 2008 7:31 AM | Link to this
That’s because expectations have fallen, not because education in Dayton is better today.
By Barb
April 9, 2008 9:33 PM | Link to this
I would be interested in the demographics of those who responded to the survey. Were their questions about academics? Did people feel the academics had been raised. If their satisfaction is just because there are new buildings I don’t think that says a lot about DPS. Perhaps they are judging the facade and not the whole academic experience. Perhaps the dissatisfied customers do not fill out a survey but rather quietly leave the district.
By painfultruth
April 9, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
Wow, must be asking idiots what they think of the Dayton schools. Go to link http://ilrc.ode.state.oh.us/Downloads/2007/0607LRCdistrict.xls to find the TRUTH. Dayton Schools stink, and the proof is in the facts and figures contained. The DDN needs to get a grip on reality!
By upset and tired of the same old
April 9, 2008 7:54 PM | Link to this
Yes, I appreciate the new building with A/C, elevator, and technology. I really appreciate it. That said, could we bring a 21st century reality into dealing with student behavior issues. Yes, children can and do have psychiatric disorders and need interventions to bring them if possible to a place where they can safely work among a general population of kids. Would you want YOUR child casually mixed up in class with a child who has tried to jump out the window, stab other children, grope other children, etc? You know that your teacher cannot warn you about that child. Yet your child could be sitting right next to a child with unregulated bipolar or autism or similar behavior related disorder. DPS is finding spots for ED (emotionally disturbed) children in regular classes instead of the separate, very small group classes with paraprofessional aids trained in restraint and exceptional child issues. If I were a parent of a DPS child I would be very concerned. Many of the new students entering your child’s class at this time of the year (April) have been expelled from another DPS school and are being shuffled around. The April shuffle. Please see my April 8th entry for IEP issues. If you have a child on an IEP at DPS, you had better be sure he/she is getting their needs met. From what I’ve seen, there are many kids who are not receiving the minutes of services or types of services on their IEPs. Scott, if you aren’t going to check into this, you truly ought to make some particular calls to someone who will do it.
By Buford
April 9, 2008 7:33 PM | Link to this
New schools are nice but, from what I keep reading as posted from current teachers in the trenches, DPS still suffers student disciplinary problems impacting the kids who want to be in school and want to obtain a decent education. Lack of discipline, lack of parental interest or participation. DPS still has a mighty long way to go. And the elected officials keep stalling on changing the school funding primary source from property owners.
By Rick
April 9, 2008 6:52 PM | Link to this
Scott, could you give us a breakdown based on the race of the respondents? I would like to know if white resident’s perceptions now and in the past. If you can’t exactly break it down by race, perhaps you could do so by area, like you did when reporting on the failed bond measure.