Goal of Gallup poll: Improve environment in Madison schools

Matthew DeFour:

While reviewing the results of a new student survey this year, the Sennett Middle School student council was surprised to learn about safety concerns.

After further investigation, council members discovered some students didn't feel comfortable in a certain hallway, so Principal Colleen Lodholz ensured a security guard monitored the hallway between class periods.

Lodholz said the Gallup Student Poll, administered in grades 5-12 for the first time in the fall, was more effective than past school climate surveys because the results were available sooner.

"Typically when we did the climate surveys, you wouldn't get the results until summer," Lodholz said. "You could choose to use it the following year, but the kids had moved on."

The Gallup poll asks students to rate 20 statements such as "I know I will graduate from high school" and "I feel safe in this school." The statements correspond to the categories "hope," "engagement" and "well-being."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 4, 2012 1:53 AM
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