The Hawai‘i State Department of Education begins its annual School Quality Survey this week to gather important feedback from students, parents/guardians and staff about the state’s public schools.

The deadline to complete and return the SQS is March 17, 2017. All responses will remain anonymous.

The survey provides information on how schools are doing with respect to school culture, satisfaction, safety and engagement. The feedback gathered is used to support school planning and improvement efforts, and meet legislative and Board of Education requirements.​

Students in grades 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11 will take the survey online at school, as will teachers, administrative office staff and instructional support staff.

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A parent or guardian of the students in the surveyed grades will have the option to take the survey online or via a paper format. Each school communicates to parents on how to complete the SQS whether digital and/or hard copy.

“We’re hope to get more responses from parents this year, as last year’s return rate was only 25%,” said Tammi Chun, assistant superintendent, Office of Strategy, Innovation and Performance. “This feedback goes towards improving our schools and the learning experiences of our children and we ask parents to take the time and submit their opinions.”

A brief video outlining the SQS can be viewed online.

The public can view the SQS for their community schools and statewide results via the Report Finder on HIDOE’s website. Search for “School Quality Survey” and add the name of a school for school-level results.

Anyone with questions about the survey is encouraged to contact HIDOE at (808) 733-4008 (Neighbor Island toll-free at 855-276-5801) or via email to [email protected].