Communities tend to feel better about the schools they know. Andy Krenz explained why the headlines miss that, and what districts are doing about it.
Andy Krenz started with a pattern most superintendents recognize.
People tend to like their local teacher more than their local school, their school more than the district, and the district more than the state.
Yet the polls that make headlines usually ask about the far end of that chain.
Speaking to superintendents at the DALI Superintendents Summit in Park City, Utah, Andy Krenz of ThoughtExchange explained how that observation led to the AASA x ThoughtExchange Nationwide Research Initiative: Community Conversation on Confidence in Public Education.
In this Article
- Why ThoughtExchange started the Nationwide Research Initiative
- A short conversation, not a ranking
- Why your community needs a seat in the findings
Why Did ThoughtExchange x AASA Start the Nationwide Research Initiative?
“They often are measuring things like the nation’s schools, which is, of course, an imaginary place that no one has ever visited.”
It began with a puzzle ThoughtExchange has discussed with superintendents for years. By many measures, outcomes such as graduation rates have improved over the past few decades. Public confidence has moved the other way.
Krenz said the team’s curiosity turned into frustration as it looked more closely at how headline polls are built. A widely reported result might rest on about a thousand respondents nationwide. “How many of those were in your state? How many of those do you think maybe were in your district?” Krenz asked.
Those headlines still find their way into board meetings, where a number about a place no one has visited becomes part of the local conversation.
A short conversation, not a ranking
“There’s no ranking. There’s no shaming in this.”
The initiative asks community members, staff, and students in grades 8 to 12 the same short set of questions. Participants rate their confidence in their local school system, describe what’s building that confidence, and share what would raise it “even by one point.” They’re also asked what students need to be most ready for adult life. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
The approach is inspired by Motivational Interviewing, using open-ended questions, reflections, and summaries.
Each district owns its own data. Quantitative findings will be published as ranges at the topic level, not by district, and aggregate findings roll up into state and nationwide trends.
That design matters for any leader who has watched a small difference between neighboring districts turn into a headline.
Why your community needs a seat in the findings
“The research is only as useful as the voices inside it. If your district or your state is not involved, your community doesn’t have a seat in the findings.”
Right now, Krenz noted, polls do much of the work of shaping the story about public education. He believes “it should be formed by those closest to the district.”
Districts seem to agree. Before the first state launch in Oklahoma in May, Krenz guessed 30 or 40 districts would sign up. “We got almost 130.”
Participation is free for districts.
For district leaders, the question is a practical one: whose voices will shape the story about public education in your community?
Watch Andy Krenz’s full remarks above to hear more.
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