Hello DSST Team,

I’m excited to share the results of our recent Fall Family Survey! Your hard work day-to-day with students and your commitment to seeing and valuing our families in our academic culture are highlighted in our HIGHEST family satisfaction. Thank you for prioritizing our families in the work you do every day for our students! 

SCHOOL SHOUTOUTS:

👏 Two Claps on two for:

• CG HS (74) and MTV MS (65) with our highest Net Promoter Scores (NPS) across our high schools and middle schools. Congratulations to CG HS who continues to hold the top spot for the last two years and MTV MS who demonstrated exponential growth to claim the top spot this year. Staff at both schools are a testament to what it means to invite families into the classroom and celebrate their students in meaningful ways.

🙌 A WOOHOO on two for:

• Cole MS (66%), AST MS (55%), CG MS (52%), and Cedar MS (51%) for having the highest participation across the network with more half of their families willing to share their feedback. The staff at these schools are demonstrating a deep commitment and passion for fostering strong, authentic relationships with families to share their feedback and partnering to prioritize the success and well-being of their students.

💃 Salsa Snaps on two for:

• AST MS (+14), Cedar MS (+10), MTV MS (+11), and CG MS (+6) who all had impressive growth in their NPS.  Since Spring of last school year, every one of these schools has demonstrated how to truly incorporate family feedback in the work and culture of their schools resulting in some of the highest family satisfaction in the network.

Survey Highlights

As a network, we achieved our highest NPS to date: 62. This means our families rated their likelihood to recommend DSST to a friend or family member as an 8.8 out of 10. A true testament to our commitment as educators! And, a high compliment to have a similar NPS to Apple, a customer-centric and well-known consumer brand. 

Some additional highlights include: 

• Achieving our Graduate Profile promise with our families.
  • College Preparedness: 84% of families are confident in our ability to prepare students for college (up from 83% in the Spring survey).
  • STEM Opportunities: 82% of our families know their student has meaningful opportunities in STEM (up from 76%).
  • Sense of Belonging: 81% of families say their child feels seen, valued, and a sense of belonging at their school (up from 80%).

• Communities that are thriving and welcoming.
  • Welcoming Community: 89% of families feel welcomed into our school community (up from 87%).
  • Academic Culture: 85% of families believe their school creates an environment that helps students learn (up from 83%).

Areas for Growth

• We need to provide more opportunities for families to share their perspectives and input with leaders and staff at their schools.
• We will prioritize recruiting and retaining transformational talent for our exceptional learners so as to increase the capacity of our center programs and SPED teams to meaningfully engage families in their student’s learning.

Thank you for all you do to create thriving and supportive school communities. The feedback we've gathered provides valuable insights into how we can build strong family support for our work. Let's keep collaborating together to ensure that every family feels heard and valued.

With gratitude, 

Danielle Felder