Selected questions are below:

• As a member of the community, we would like to know your views of the Salem Public Schools. To what extent do you feel confident that education in the school district is on the right track and heading in the right direction?
• What do you think is the most important purpose of K-12 education? Please review the below statements of purpose and rank them to reflect their order of importance to you. The most important purpose of education is to...
  • ...prepare students for successful careers
  • ...prepare students for higher education
  • ...prepare students to be thoughtful, engaged citizens
  • ...prepare students to develop and learn to his/her fullest potential
• How well do you feel that Salem Public Schools is doing fulfilling these statements of purpose?
• What skills and qualities should an SPS graduate have in order to thrive in the 21st century? Please select the FIVE (5) options that you feel are most relevant for Salem. Please add any additional skills and qualities that you feel should be included below.
  • Critical thinking & problem solving
  • Agility & adaptability
  • Effective oral & written communication
  • Empathy
  • Curiosity & imagination
  • Focus on self-improvement & development
  • Collaboration & teamwork
  • Ethical mindset
  • Analyzing & synthesizing information
  • Active citizenship
  • Appreciation & celebration of diversity
  • Initiative & goal setting
  • Other (please specify)
• How well do you feel that SPS is doing to ensure that our graduates possess these skills and competencies? In the dropdown menus below, please identify one skill with which you feel SPS does a great job (first column) and one skill with which SPS does a poor job (second column), in terms of ensuring that our graduates possess these skills and competencies.
• What degree of importance do you think parents place on the following factors when they are choosing a school for their child? If you are a parent, please indicate the level of importance you would place on these factors. If you are not a parent, please rate each according to what you think parents would most care about.
  • SCHOOL CLIMATE FACTORS such as school safety, school culture, parent involvement, etc.
  • ACADEMIC FACTORS such as academic quality, curriculum, effective teaching, etc.
  • CONVENIENCE FACTORS such as located close to home, availability of transportation, etc.
  • AVAILABILITY OF SPECIALIZED SERVICES such as those for special education or English Language Learners, etc.
  • SIZE FACTORS such as a small school and/or small class sizes, etc.
  • DISTINCTIVE PROGRAMMATIC FEATURES OF A SCHOOL such as school focus or theme, technology, arts programming, science & technology programming, etc.
  • AVAILABILITY OF ENRICHMENT AND ENHANCEMENTS such as electives, special programs in the arts, theater, clubs, etc.
  • REPUTATION such as knowledge about school from neighbors or people you know, etc.
• If a family recently moved to Salem and had three children of the below ages, would you recommend that they consider sending their children to one of Salem Public Schools? Below are three examples, based on children entering different grade levels. Please base your response on your current knowledge and views of our schools.
  • A 5-year-old entering Kindergarten
  • A child entering the 6th grade
  • A child entering the 9th grade
• What would make Salem Public Schools more attractive to families considering other options for their children?
• What kind of learning opportunities and educational options would you like to see Salem Public Schools offer (or offer more of) in the future? Please check all that apply.
  • Deeper learning/project-based learning
  • STEM education
  • Competency-based learning
  • Expeditionary learning
  • Arts integration
  • Career, vocational, technical education (CVTE)
  • Dual language immersion
  • Montessori
  • International/multicultural education
  • Technology education/integration & digital learning
  • Other?
• What kinds of after-school and/or summer learning opportunities, if any, would you like to see Salem develop in the future? (open-ended)