Students feel safe at North Allegheny, per survey

Parents and students strongly agree that North Allegheny feels safe and secure, according to a school district survey conducted in May.

All parents in the district and students in fifth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades were queried on school-related topics, and Superintendent Brendan Hyland provided the results to the school board in September.

“One of the things we discussed is that, when we got the results, we would share it with our community and that we were transparent,” Hyland said.

More than 2,300 students and 2,340 parents responded, according to Hyland. The survey will be conducted annually, and the administration will take action on the results.

“We are reading it. We are looking to address our strengths, our weaknesses, and we’re going to get better. And we are going to make sure we report that data,” Hyland said.

The survey presentation to the school board listed the top four strengths and top four opportunities for improvement for all schools. The survey is posted on the school district website.

Participants were able to provide answers of strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree, and parents could opt their children from the survey, the superintendent said.

Feeling safe at school, and that their school is safe and secure, were top strengths at the elementary, middle and high schools for parents and students combined, at 95% or higher.

Respondents in the middle and elementary schools also agreed that their principal cares and treats students with respect.

“This is wonderful. Our principals go above and beyond to make their students feel that they are part of this school community,” said Michele Dowell, assistant superintendent of elementary education.

Elementary students and parents both felt the teachers were caring and respectful. And technology assistance for district-issued devices received favorable nods from both middle and high school respondents.

The top strength noted by high school respondents of both parents and students was that they feel safe while using district transportation.

An area of improvement for high school and middle school students was awareness of mental health support in their schools.

Elementary students and parents were not aware of how to handle school-related stressors, which has been an issue since the pandemic. The administration is working with principals on ways to help students learn to manage school-related stressors, Dowell said.

Only 64% and 67% of students in middle and high schools, respectively, felt like peers were treating each other with respect.

While Dave Deramo, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said adolescence is a challenging time, it’s important to note that students were voicing their concern here and “demonstrating something that we need to continue to look at and find ways to increase that score.”

Also, food service in elementary and middle did not get top scores with students, although parents were more pleased with meals. Dowell said that needs to be investigated.

“Are they wishing they are serving chocolate cookies every day, or is it that they don’t like the taste of the food?” she said.

Elementary students did not score high regarding a rigorous and challenging curriculum, or that homework was meaningful and a learning aid. Dowell said it’s important that students understand what those points mean, but the district also will look into the two areas for improvement.

Similar sentiments were found at middle school, with only 57% students agreeing homework is meaningful. And only about 55% of high schoolers agreed with that statement compared to their parents.

Deramo said they will be “digging deeper” into the issue, noting that a higher level of homework is expected in English language arts and mathematics.

When asked if the high school monitors a student’s performance in a proactive manner to identify and address learning needs, only 67% of parents agreed, compared to the youth at about 76%.

Next year, a survey will have results from each individual building, Hyland said. A staff survey will be developed and distributed this year.

Parents can view the survey results under the district’s strategic and comprehensive plan at www.northallegheny.org. The results are broken down by grade level for each question.