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Madison School District: Private/Parochial, Open Enrollment Leave, Open Enrollment Enter, Home Based Parent Surveys

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Kurt Kiefer, MMSD Chief Information Officer [1.3MB PDF]:

This memo is a summary of the results from the surveys completed during the past school year with various parent groups whose children reside within the MMSD attendance area but receive certain alternative education options. Also included are results of the survey conducted with non-residents who attend MMSD schools via the Open Enrollment program (Le., Open Enrollment Enter).



Background
Groups were surveys representing households whose students were enrolled in one of four different educational settings: MMSD resident students attending private/parochial schools, MMSD resident students attending other public schools via the Open Enrollment program, non-resident students attending MMSD schools via the Open Enrollment program, and MMSD resident students provided home based instruction.



The surveys were conducted between December 2008 and February 2009. The surveys were mailed to households or they could complete the survey online. Two mailings were conducted – the initial mailing to all households and a second to non-respondents as a reminder request. Total group sizes and responses are provided below.

This document will be discussed at Monday evening’s Madison School Board meeting.
UPDATE:

2 thoughts on “Madison School District: Private/Parochial, Open Enrollment Leave, Open Enrollment Enter, Home Based Parent Surveys”

  1. Some interesting stuff in here. Too bad the sample is relatively small. I was struck most by the person who spoke about the failures of integration in public schools and also the perception that the MMSD somehow discriminates against Christians. The latter, particularly because of some of the anti-semitism my kids have endured from their peers. When you ignore the extremist comments and focus on the rest of them, it just shows what we’ve known for years: diverse public schools work great for some kids and not for others, and there’s no paucity of strong opinions by mommy and daddy on either count.

  2. David, just fyi, this is only a sampling of the comments received.
    My sense is that most people who read either this summary or the complete report feel the messages are clear and strong. Much more than simply “interesting stuff.” We wanted to know “why people leave” our schools; the people who’ve left appreciated being given the opportunity to answer the question; and they gave us some pretty clear explanations (data) as to why. Remember, the numbers requesting a transfer out of the district soared this year (more data).
    Please don’t trivialize other people’s experiences with a — (yawn) — “we’ve known this for years.” (Yes, some of us have known some of this for a long time, but now we have real information.) Despite their belief in public education, some MMSD families have endured quite a lot of pain and are now dealing with significant expense. I, for one, appreciate their taking the time to tell their stories.

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