Avon Maitland District School Board Releases Results from their Parent/Caregiver Climate Survey

by Bob Montgomery

Between November and December of last year the Avon Maitland District School Board conducted a climate survey for all of the board’s parents and caregivers of AMDSB students. The goal was to better understand their experiences and their perceptions of the experiences of students.

Board Director Doctor Lisa Walsh explains every second year the Ministry requires them to conduct a Climate Survey. It started with monitoring bullying in the schools among students but over the years has been expanded to include parents, the community and staff and they look at a much wider climate in the schools. “We want to look at mental health and well being, we want to look at welcoming environment, we want to look at equity support, the sense of belonging that both families and students feel in our school.”

Doctor Walsh says they've just received the results from the staff climate survey and the parents and caregivers survey which was done in November, and they were disappointed in some of the responses from parents and staff around bullying. “Forty-eight percent of parents said they were satisfied with the steps that the school is taking to prevent bullying and forty-six percent said that they were satisfied with the steps taken to prevent racism and discrimination.” Doctor Walsh adds they also had thirty-two percent and forty-one percent neutral responses which suggests that those people don't know what the schools are doing, so she says that's something they have to address.

On the plus side, a large number of parents said the schools communicated with them very well, they were very comfortable talking to someone at their school about their child's behaviour, they felt welcome in their child's school and they felt they were being encouraged to be an active partner in their children's education.

A full report of the survey results can be found on the AMDSB website.