Belonging Survey

A critical step in our work around wellbeing, inclusion, diversity, and equity (WIDE) was the administration of our first Belonging survey.  We partnered with the Search Institute to develop and implement the survey to students in grades 4-12 and all parents/caregivers, faculty, and staff.  Our faculty and staff completed the survey in early November 2023, and our students and parents/caregivers in December, 2023. The results of these surveys are shared below. 

  The resources below provide a brief overview of the survey, along with some sample questions that will be asked. Additional links and resources, including access to the parent/caregiver version of the survey, also follows.

Student Belonging Survey

The student survey is built around Search’s Developmental Relationships framework, which measures ways that teachers and school staff help students, “discover who they are, cultivate the ability to shape their own lives, and learn how to engage with and contribute to the world around them.” The survey will also measure how students experience the environment at our school, staff practices, and whether or not those experiences are equitable. Please note the following additional information about the student survey.

• All students in grade 4-12 will be given the opportunity to complete the survey in school during the first half of December (depending on school).

• The survey will likely take between 15-20 minutes, and is anonymous, with no way to associate individual responses with the identity of any student.

• The survey asks students to think about their overall experience with the adults in the school they have regular contact with--teachers and staff--not just one particular teacher or set of teachers.

• Students may skip any question they wish for any reason.

Parent Belonging Survey

The parent/caregiver survey measures the sense of belonging experienced by parents and caregivers when engaged with the school. Parents and caregivers will rate their experience of the school environment, staff practices related to diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and to the degree to which those practices are equitable. We sincerely hope you, our parents and caregivers, will also take the time to share your views about your sense of belonging within the Scarsdale Schools community. 

What Comes Next?

Once our students, parents, faculty, and staff results have been collected, we will develop a summary report to share with the community. We will then engage in reflective inquiry around the data to develop actionable recommendations and strategies. This inquiry will include questions like, What stands out? What encourages us? What discourages us? What surprises us? What is not clear/ What is the significance of this information? What may have led to this result? What action ideas come to mind? Once the action steps have been developed, they will be shared with the community, integrated into our strategic priorities, and implemented. We anticipate repeating the survey in roughly two years.

We offer you our sincere thanks for taking the time to engage in this important work. We are excited to learn from the feedback and deepen our understanding of what we can do to enrich the sense of belonging in our school community.