Families Take Survey to Assess Wellbeing at Exeter
For the first time last Saturday, the Academy, in conjunction with Pacific Consulting Group (PCG), administered a “family survey” that will allow students and parents to assess various aspects of Academy life.
Unlike specific surveys from past years, such as the Youth Health Risk Behavior Survey (YHRBS), the Family Survey has a broader focus and seeks to conduct a more holistic review. The Academy will administer the survey every two years to accumulate longitudinal data.
Interim Principal William Rawson described the survey as a way to gauge, understand and improve student and parent experiences. “Understanding how students are experiencing Exeter is important to our efforts to support students,” he said. “We hope the survey results will help us understand how we can best communicate with and engage parents, and how we can help them support their students.”
Dean of Enrollment William Leahy spoke to the broad nature of the survey, describing it as an overview of the Exeter experience for both students and parents. “The Academy is eager to collect data as it relates to the overall experience of all students at Exeter,” he said. “We are also looking forward to surveying all parents and guardians in order to better understand their experience with the Academy.”
A committee, co-chaired by Leahy and Dean of Students Melissa Mischke, created the survey questions with input from PCG. Responses were collected by the consulting group to preserve anonymity.
Mischke emphasized the breadth of the survey questions. “Because our whole organization took the survey, a whole bunch of different areas are addressed,” she said. “For students, it’s not simply your academic areas, and for the parents, it’s not simply your child’s academic areas.”
PCG will review the responses and report trends to the administration next term. “The results are being analyzed by [PCG, who has] deep experience with this type of research,” Leahy said. “They will analyze the data and provide us with a detailed analysis while also protecting the privacy of all respondents.”
The administration hopes to apply takeaways from the survey to current initiatives and strategic planning. “We will use the results of this survey, along with other data points, as we reflect on programming, strategic directions and future initiatives designed to deliver the best educational and residential experience for current and future Exonians,” Leahy said.
Mischke agreed, adding, “We’re hoping to see what people are thinking, what areas we’re doing well in, all right in and need work in,” she said. “It’s a way to pause, reflect and ask, ‘Do these results match what we’re already working on?’”
Many Exonians view the survey as a step in the right direction. “I hope the administration is listening. I feel that they could learn a lot from what we have to say,” lower William Vietor said. “The range of questions was thoughtful—it’s important to consider all aspects of Academy life and take student opinions into consideration.”
Still, others questioned the consulting group’s role in the survey-taking process. “I wish the administration had personally reviewed each student’s response,” upper Smaiyl Makyshov said. “The fact that they are outsourcing removes our voice[s].”
Mischke elaborated on the administration’s evolving mission to simultaneously monitor students and grant them sufficient independence. She detailed how this balance has shifted in recent years with parents requesting to be more involved in aspects of student life. “Back in the day, parents dropped their kids off, went back home and there was very little communication,” she recalled.
Mischke hopes the survey will aid the administration in accommodating all community members and their various needs from the school. “We live in a different world today where parents are incredibly invested in every moment of a student’s life,” Mischke said. “Through this survey, we are seeking how to best compromise parents’ and students’ interests.”