SFUSD’s SQII Family Survey Implementation Guide, Spring 2015
In February, we will begin District-wide implementation of the School Quality Improvement Index (SQII, or
the Index), the District’s new accountability measure that replaces AYP/API as the accountability measures
under NCLB. As part of the Index, all schools are being held accountable to data from family culture and
climate surveys. The Index survey asks families about their perception of the school, its programs and staff,
how welcome and engaged they feel, and how they support their child’s education. This information is
very useful for examining and strengthening your school-family relationships, as well as working with your
school community on developing your Balanced Score Card (BSC) priorities and goals.
A small subset of families might need to complete more than one type of survey because schools are also
expected to conduct family surveys for ExCEL (k-12), Early Education pre-K, and Early Ed OST, IF those
programs are on your site. However, most of your families will only have to take the Index survey. Also,
families with children in more than one school will be asked to fill out a separate Index survey for each
school. The criteria for which families take which surveys are outlined below.
Family survey
WHO takes the survey
Format
Timeframe
School Quality Improvement Families of students, TK - 12
Index, Culture/Climate
Online (school-specific
link) and paper
Feb 23 - May 15
Early Ed Pre-K
Families of students in Pre-K
Paper only
Jan - March 20
ExCEL
Families of students in ExCEL
programs, TK-12
Online OR paper
Feb 17 - March 31
Early Ed, Out of School Time
Families of students in Early
Ed OST programs, TK-5
Paper only
Jan - March 20
FIVE Steps for Survey Success!
1. Which Surveys?! Determine which family surveys, in addition to the Index survey, your school is
responsible for administering.
2. Give A Heads Up! Let your families know in advance -- by letter, robo-call, text, School Loop, website,
email, in person -- that the surveys will be coming and that you need and value their participation.
3. Build a Team! Identify and send a diverse team to a District survey training. Your team might include:
ExCEL partner, family liaison, student advisor, attendance liaison, social worker, nurse, counselors, Early
Ed OST staff, site administrator, parent leaders (PTA, SSC, ELAC), teacher leaders, coaches/IRFs,
academic liaisons, security, or front office staff.
4. Bridge the Digital Divide! Have a computer lab, laptops, or mobile tablets ready at your site for online
survey administration. The more surveys that are completed online, the quicker your results will be
returned to you!
5. Message What and Why! For families whose children participate in ExCEL, Early Ed, or Early Ed OST
programs, let them know about the differences between the Index survey and the program-specific
family surveys (talking points are coming soon).
Suggestions for Survey Implementation
Discuss and plan with your family engagement teams which of the following strategies are best suited to
your school! If you have additional questions, contact Hayin Kim, kimh@sfusd.edu, or 241-6185, x3037.
Outreach and Messaging!
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Plan and publicize a launch event, such as having a kiosk at parent teacher conferences, a community
meeting, or principal chat where you can have multiple staff members assisting families to complete
surveys on site. Make it easy and appealing to families by having small incentives like snacks, child
care, or small prizes.
Emphasize the importance of the survey so that families understand how valuable their perspectives
are in helping us learn and improve. Have teachers and other school staff reinforce the message!
Send out a link to the survey via School Loop or email for parents/caregivers to complete the survey
online on their own.
Send flyers home with students with the survey link.
Text the survey link to parents and tell them they can complete it on their mobile devices. Stay away
from “live broadcasting,” like Twitter – since each link is specific to a school.
Send weekly reminders by letter, robo-call, text, School Loop, website, email, and in person.
Make personalized, positive calls home and ask if they’ve completed a survey; if they need additional
help, offer to complete survey over the phone by reading them the questions.
Have a trusted adult available at a principal chat or family-focused events to read the survey to
parents/caregivers with limited literacy.
Have a mobile tablet or laptop ready (e.g. in the front office or family resource room) with the survey
for anytime parents/caregivers come to the school.
Work with Your Partners!
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Work with your CBO, parent/caregiver, PTAs, ELAC, and community partners to encourage families to
respond to the survey; ask them to hand out the survey when they meet with families.
Have ExCEL/OST providers give out the ExCEL/OST family surveys as part of program pick-up; ask
them to also remind parents and hand out the Index survey.
Use a student roster to map which surveys each family should take and check them off as they
complete the survey.
Incentivize Participation!
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Get students to help remind their parents/caregivers. Offer incentives to students - such as class
pizza parties or free dress passes – for classes in which all families complete the survey.
Offer refreshments for parents/caregivers as they come to complete a survey.
Have engaging activities or a few adults on hand to look after students while parents/care-givers are
completing the survey.
Hold a raffle for families who complete a survey at the school.
Commit to sharing the data back with families so that they see that their voices matter!