Every Fall EBSAC asks the Earl Beatty community to fill out a survey that will inform our fundraising and project efforts for the following school year. This year, the survey was open from October 15-28, 2019. The survey link was sent to families via our EBSAC email subscriber list, through Earl Beatty’s Friday Flash email and was advertised on our Facebook page and website earlbeatty.ca.
We asked respondents a total of 16 questions on a variety of topics, including what subject areas they would like ideas for supporting their children at home (e.g. math), how they would like to receive support (e.g. newsletter) and what we should focus our fundraising efforts on (e.g. digital fluency skills). The survey took approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Executive Summary
- 125 survey responses were received from Earl Beatty parents representing approximately 170 students
- Responses roughly corresponded to the distribution of students in the school population (JK/SK: 51 responses; grades 1-3: 74 responses; grades 4-6: 43 responses; grades 7-8: 4 responses)
Feedback about EBSAC Meetings
- Only a minority of parents attend EBSAC meetings on a regular basis: The majority of respondents have never attended or rarely attend EBSAC meetings (75%)
- Families suggested strategies to improve accessibility of meetings, which are currently being developed/implemented:
- Improving access to and turn-around time of Meeting Agendas and Minutes
- Alternating weeknights for meetings
- Livestreaming meetings
- Providing free childcare, dinner (typically pizza), and healthy snacks (e.g. fruit)
- Families identified specific topics for discussion at EBSAC meetings, including:
- Current and upcoming school events and activities (e.g. drills, policies, fun Fridays)
- Facilities and infrastructure updates (e.g. renovations and maintenance)
- Future planning for Earl Beatty (e.g. teaching and administration staff goals)
- Curriculum and teaching strategies
- Safety
- Supporting less fortunate schools
Feedback about Educational Opportunities for Families
- Families would prefer to receive education about supporting their children through Workshops and an EBSAC Newsletter
- Families would prefer educational workshops to be held Monday to Thursdays evenings
- Families identified specific topics for educational opportunities, including:
- Ideas for supporting reading, writing and mathematics
- Well-being, staying connected to your children and digital safety
- Families’ lowest priorities for education opportunities are in performing and visual arts, and physical education
Feedback about Fundraising
- Fundraising priorities matched families’ priorities for educational opportunities (i.e. math and literacy)
- Families identified other key fundraising priorities, including:
- Capital improvements of outdoor space and library
- Supporting teacher projects and activities
- Field trips
- Community building: Fostering a sense of belonging and safety among student population