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Teachers feel safe at Riverside, but not at Wexler-Grant. Only 6 percent of teachers recommend sending kids to Beecher School. And a new, lesser-known science magnet school tied for the honor of parents’ most-recommended school.
Those results emerged Monday, as the city released full data from new school surveys.
The surveys, taken by parents, teachers and students in April and May, aimed to give feedback about city schools as part of the city’s school reform drive. The district released a summary of the results on June 23; it withheld the school-by-school data until Monday in order to give principals time to digest it before the public does.
Click here to see the full, school-by-school results.
The survey got responses from 23 percent of parents, 82 percent of teachers and 88 percent of students in grades 5 to 12. A total of 13,631 surveys were filled out.
The new data reveals one fast-rising star joining the well-known top performers — the city’s new science magnet school, Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS), which serves 160 students in grades 6 and 7 (some are pictured above). The school, whose permanent home is planned near the University of New Haven in West Haven, is currently housed at St. Stanislaus’ Church on State St. It emerged as a top-performer on the Connecticut Mastery tests released last week, too: For example, the tests showed 83 percent of sixth-graders were reading at goal level.
That school, which opened in the fall of 2008, scored high in several categories on the surveys. A total 97 percent of parents said they would recommend the school, making it the top-ranked school in parents’ eyes, tied with the Sound School. Worthington Hooker and the Edgewood School came in a close second with 95 percent of parents recommending each school.
“We’re quite proud of ESUMS,” said school reform czar Garth Harries. “We’re quite proud of a number of these schools.”
ESUMS plans to add one more grade level each year until it serves students in grades 6 to 12, he said.
At the bottom of parents’ list were Wexler/Grant — which 48 percent of parents would recommend to other parents — and Brennan/Rogers, which was recommended by 58 percent. Brennan/Rogers, selected as a “turnaround school,” will be among the first batch of schools to pilot major reforms this fall.
Teachers’ Recommendations
The surveys revealed that teachers are divided over whether they would “recommend my school to a friend or colleague.”
In 10 elementary/middle and five high schools, at least 75 percent of teachers said they would. On the other side of the spectrum, there were 11 elementary/middle schools where at least 65 percent of teachers said they would not make that recommendation.
Edgewood, Hooker and ESUMS all scored at the top of that list, with over 90 percent of teachers making a positive recommendation. At the bottom of the list: Hill Central (18 percent), Celentano (13 percent), Beecher (6 percent), and Wexler/Grant (4 percent).
Safety
Teachers also varied widely over whether they feel safe at work.
At five schools, 100 percent of teachers said they feel safe: Hooker, ESUMS, John C. Daniels, New Haven Academy and Riverside Academy.
The five schools at the bottom of that list were: Beecher (42 percent), Metropolitan Business Academy (42 percent), Barnard (41 percent), Celentano (42 percent), and Wexler/Grant (22 percent).
Over 87 percent of students at these middle schools said they felt safe at school: Columbus, Nathan Hale, Sound School, John C. Daniels and Edgewood.
High school posed a bigger safety challenge. Only 51 percent of students at both Wilbur Cross and Hillhouse High said they felt safe at school. Wexler/Grant fell at the bottom of the list, with 42 percent of students reporting they felt safe.
Harries said all the data is meant to give schools feedback on how they can improve. They’ll work on plans addressing those concerns over the summer, and make changes in the fall. Then all the schools will be surveyed again next year, likely in February.
“What’s most important to me [about the survey data] is what schools choose to do about it,” Harries said, “what happens from here.”
The Wexler-Grant data is very disappointing. I worked for years in Dixwell and that school was a crown jewel under Jeffie Frazier, who worked diligently to create a safe learning environment for young people and partnerships that drove enrichment opportunities. Not sure what has happened, or why the BoE has not supported the school enough to remain successful. The students of Dixwell have obviously suffered through the process.