Butler County High School
Principal Questionnaire – Survey Results
Report to SBDM Council
April 12, 2012
BCHS Principal Questionnaire Report
Per SBDM Policy, the principal is charged each year to poll stakeholders with a satisfaction survey. During the March 5, 2012, faculty meeting, Mr. O’Driscoll distributed the Principal Questionnaire to the BCHS faculty. For students, teachers were asked to distribute the student questionnaires to their 1st block/1st period classes and return them when completed. Surveys were to be completed anonymously and responses were not linked back to specific students. Assistant Principal Michael Gruber tabulated the responses and analyzed the results.
Butler County High School currently maintains high expectations for student learning and strives to create an atmosphere of trust and respect. Two years ago, as interim principal, Mr. O’Driscoll made the tough call to postpone prom because of high water. In that same year, he felt it necessary to revise the cell phone policy to make it stricter. This past year, in his first year as full time principal, Mr. O’Driscoll has implemented curriculum changes and dealt with some very serious issues at the school such as deciding whether or not to stay on the current block schedule, dealing with tight budgetary issues, and adding to his position, the duties and responsibilities of Athletic Director.
Included on separate pages are copies of the teacher and student surveys. Also included is a graphical analysis of each question and its weighted average. From the results of the teacher survey, the two questions receiving the highest scores include:
· Question 11: Principal is honest and trustworthy—4.9% out of 5.0%.
· Question 12: Principal treats me fairly—4.9% out of 5.0%.
The two questions receiving the lowest scores included:
· Question 7: Principal is well organized—3.6% out 5.0%.
· Question 16: Staff morale continues to improve—3.1% out of 5.0%.
According to the teachers, the strengths of the principal are that he is kind, patient, dependable, hardworking, honest, and fair; he cares and wants what is best for students, the students respect his authority and, he tries to get things done. They characterize him as lively, jovial, positive, and friendly with students. Overall, he is supportive of staff by listening, compassionate, dedicated, and enthusiastic. His mission and desire is to improve the school. He is open-minded and has insight, stamina, and maturity. Teachers feel he has a diverse background in education and handles pressure well. He has a willingness to work and welcomes new ideas. Teachers feel that he looks out for disadvantaged students by providing them opportunities to graduate. Mr. O’Driscoll is good at interpreting data, supports families, and learns from mistakes.
According to some of the teachers, the principal has too much on his plate. He is sometimes forgetful, and although not his fault, he is gone to meetings too much. At times, he is too eager to forgive bad behavior from students and gives them too many chances to stay in school, which in turn, may cause danger to others. He does not always follow through on the small things or meet his obligations. It is suggested that he needs to communicate better through email and needs to work harder at being the instructional leader by being in classrooms more.
From the 212 student surveys returned, five questions tied with the highest ratings:
· Question 7: The principal is well organized—3.8%.
· Question 11: The principal is honest and trustworthy—3.8%.
· Question 12: The principal treats me fairly—3.8%.
· Question 13: Overall the principal is doing a good job—3.8%.
· Question 16: Someone at the school cares about me—3.8%.
Question #4 received a low score—which is positive—because it indicates students do not feel more supervision in the hallways is needed when they are released from lunch. Two other questions receiving the lowest scores included:
· Question 15: The school resource office is armed everyday—2.9% out of 5.0%.
· Question 10: When making new policies students are included in their development or they have an opportunity to offer their input—2.6% out of a total of 5.0%.
According to the students, Mr. O’Driscoll’s strengths include qualities such as: nice, smart, trustworthy, fair, respectful, flexible, caring, and understanding. They feel he loves his job; he is involved, and is encouraging. One student wrote, “He praises us every day.” Additionally, students see him as having a great personality, humorous, down to earth, optimistic, and open to new ideas. They also feel he has school spirit and is supportive of athletics and band.
According to the student responses, some weaknesses of the principal are that he lets students off too easy; he is too busy and is not often available to meet with them. Overall the surveys show that the students seem to be the most critical of two things: the strictness of the cell phone policy and the number of students who smoke in the restrooms.
Both the teacher and student surveys asked to name the strengths and weakness of the vice-principal. In general the teachers say he is fair, helpful, professional, and visible. He is perceived as being organized, dedicated, and hard-working. Some teachers say he is too busy and he may not always be fair and consistent in the way he disciplines students or aware of curriculum concerns. It was suggested that Mr. Gruber offer professional development on how to help faculty members avoid teacher/student conflict to help keep students in class more.
Most students view Mr. Gruber as being fair, responsible, respectful, kind, caring, reliable and good with students. Although he is visible, it is believed that he could watch the restrooms more. Others see him as taking his job too seriously, being too strict, too busy, and mean. One student wrote that he never smiles.
In summary, the results of the 2012 Principal Questionnaire show that overall both the principal and assistant principal have a relatively high approval rating from both the teachers and students. School leaders should continue to maintain an atmosphere of trust and respect among stakeholders. However, based upon the findings in this report, it would behoove the administration to try and be more accessible to both teachers and students and to seriously examine the problem of students smoking during the school day. Additionally, students should be better informed on how they can offer their input when it comes to the school making policies and decisions that directly affect the students.
Principal Questionnaire (Teacher Version)
Directions: Please fill out the below questionnaire based on your experience(s) this school year with this principal. This survey is anonymous and the results will be presented before the SBDM council.Question: / Response
1=Not At All
5 = Most Definitely
1. When I talk to the principal, he/she genuinely seems interested in what I am asking or what I am suggesting. / 1 2 3 4 5
2. The principal is often available to talk about concerns I may have. / 1 2 3 4 5
3. I feel the principal supports me in the classroom. / 1 2 3 4 5
4. I feel the principal supports me when I enforce rules or policies. / 1 2 3 4 5
5. I feel the principal is an instructional leader. / 1 2 3 4 5
6. I feel the principal enforces the policies fairly to all students. / 1 2 3 4 5
7. The principal is well organized. / 1 2 3 4 5
8. Faculty meetings are productive and informative. / 1 2 3 4 5
9. Students seem to respect what the principal says. / 1 2 3 4 5
10. When making new policies I am included in their development or have an opportunity to offer my input. / 1 2 3 4 5
11. I feel the principal is honest and trust worthy. / 1 2 3 4 5
12. I feel the principal treats me fairly. / 1 2 3 4 5
13. Overall I feel the principal is doing a good job. / 1 2 3 4 5
14. The principal is ready to try new ideas in areas like curriculum, discipline, & fund raising. / 1 2 3 4 5
15. The school has more of a family atmosphere than just a place to work. / 1 2 3 4 5
16. Staff morale continues to improve. / 1 2 3 4 5
17. I feel the principal is just waiting to catch me doing something wrong. / 1 2 3 4 5
18. I feel the principal is just waiting to catch students doing something wrong. / 1 2 3 4 5
19. I feel the principal is too ridged and lacks the needed “rule bending” needed in a diverse world. / 1 2 3 4 5
20. I feel the principal is in his/her office too much and is not visible. / 1 2 3 4 5
Short Answer Questions:
1. List three strengths the principal at BCHS has:2. List one weakness the principal at BCHS has:
3. What policies have been implemented, if any, which needs to be revised or abolished?
4. Name two strengths and one weakness of the vice-principal at BCHS.
Principal Questionnaire (Student Version)
Directions: Please fill out the below questionnaire based on your experience(s) this school year with this principal. This survey is anonymous and the results will be presented before the SBDM council.Question: / Response
1=Not At All
5 = Most Definitely
1. When I talk to the principal, he genuinely seems interested in what I am asking or what I am suggesting. / 1 2 3 4 5
2. The principal is often available to talk about concerns I may have. / 1 2 3 4 5
3. I feel the principal tries to help me when I feel I have been treated unfairly. / 1 2 3 4 5
4. I feel we need more supervision in the hallways after students are released from lunch. / 1 2 3 4 5
5. I feel the principal is doing everything possible to make the building safe. / 1 2 3 4 5
6. I feel the principal enforces the policies fairly to all students. / 1 2 3 4 5
7. The principal is well organized. / 1 2 3 4 5
8. We are improving our school spirit. / 1 2 3 4 5
9. I feel my teachers really care about me. / 1 2 3 4 5
10. When making new policies I am included in their development or have an opportunity to offer my input. / 1 2 3 4 5
11. I feel the principal is honest and trust worthy. / 1 2 3 4 5
12. I feel the principal treats me fairly. / 1 2 3 4 5
13. Overall I feel the principal is doing a good job. / 1 2 3 4 5
14. The principal is ready to try new ideas students offer him. / 1 2 3 4 5
15. The school resource office is armed everyday. / 1 2 3 4 5
16. Someone at the school cares about you. / 1 2 3 4 5
17. If you had a problem you needed help with, there is a faculty/staff person you feel you could talk to. / 1 2 3 4 5
18. I feel the school needs to improve bathroom monitoring. / 1 2 3 4 5
19. I feel the principal is too ridged and lacks the needed “rule bending” needed in a diverse world. / 1 2 3 4 5
20. I feel the principal is in his/her office too much and is not visible. / 1 2 3 4 5
Short Answer Questions:
1. List three strengths the principal at BCHS has:2. List one weakness the principal at BCHS has:
3. What policies have been implemented, if any, which needs to be revised or abolished?
4. Name two strengths and one weakness of the vice-principal at BCHS.