A key aspect of Saskatoon Public Schools’ strategic plan is to provide stakeholders in our organization (i.e., students, parents, staff, and the community-at-large) with the opportunity to offer their input and advice regarding the operation and direction of the school division.
While we collect perceptual data every year, we do so on a bi-annual basis for any particular stakeholder group. In other words, we collected data from students and parents during the 2005-2006 school year and from our staff as well as the general community and business community during both the 2004-2005 and 2006-2007 school years. This year, we have returned to our students and parents to gather their perceptions about Saskatoon Public Schools (student perceptions will be reported to the Board under separate cover at a future meeting).
Saskatoon Public Schools’ motto “Inspiring Learning” implies that we aspire to build a strong and vibrant learning community. When a high degree of learning community capacity is present, all members of the community feel valued, affirmed, and inspired. In addition, all individuals within the community are seen as co-learners who learn with and from each other.
Insightrix Research Services administered a telephone survey between April 16 and April 27, 2008 of a statistically representative sample of 800 parents whose children attend Saskatoon Public Schools. The survey used with parents this year was identical to the 2005-2006 survey. It is grounded in learning community theory to assess the extent to which we have been successful in building learning community capacity and conditions in Saskatoon Public Schools from the points of view of our parents.