Good Day Kimball, time for the next ?ÄúWorld?Äôs Best Workforce Survey?Äù statements to discuss. The first one to discuss is the statement ?ÄúKimball Schools respond to individual needs of students. ?Äù The committee used this statement to get a sense of how parents feel their child?Äôs needs are being met. Fifty-five percent of the group agreed with this statement, nineteen percent disagreed with the statement, and twenty-six percent were neutral. Both buildings were disappointed with the numbers on this statement, but we also look at it as a way to see that there are things we need to do for both parents and students to feel that the needs are being met appropriately. We would like to have the ?Äúagree?Äù number to be in the eighty percent range but this gives us the opportunity to really focus in on what students and parents are looking for.
Based on the previous statement, the committee wanted to see what the community felt our programs of strength were. So this is what was asked, ?ÄúWhat are Kimball?Äôs strengths??Äù People had the option to pick from the following: Academic programs, highly skilled teachers, athletic program offerings, early childhood programs, strong athletic support from booster clubs, community education programs, well-kept and maintained facilities, and access to and use of facilities. The top vote getters were: Academic programs, well-kept and maintained facilities, highly skilled teachers, athletic program offerings, and strong athletic booster support. The numbers were good to see that the parents and community feel as strongly as they do on the programing the district has in both the academics and the athletics. It was also important to see the value the community feels with the boosters clubs and how much they help with keeping the programing strong at the youth level and supporting the activities at the high school level. It was also a nice boost for the custodial staff to see that the community recognizes their hard work at maintaining the facilities to be used by many different groups throughout the year.
Now on the flip side, the survey asked the exact opposite question, ?ÄúIn what areas could Kimball Schools improve??Äù The options to choose from were: academic programs, highly skilled teachers, athletic program offerings, early childhood and family education programs, facilities, and access to and use of technology. The top vote getters for this were: academic programs, access to and use of technology, highly skilled teachers, community education programs, and facilities. This was interesting because the biggest strength was also the thing the community wanted to see improved being the academic programs. What this tells the committee and myself is that the community and parents appreciate what the district has done up to this point but they also want to see the buildings continue to push and create strong educational programs where their children will be challenged and find success. This was one of the most encouraging things about Kimball, even though we are a small community, we still want the best for the kids not only today but well into tomorrow. This helps in motivating everyone around to keep striving to be not only the best here but as well as in the region and the state.
Well that is all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read this information, Kimball. Next week I will be able to wrap up the survey and move to other items for discussion. Have a great weekend and look for more next week. Take care and be safe. Go Cubs!