Sharing Family Survey Results in Your Principal Newsletter

Family surveys are one of the most underused communication tools in schools. Principals send surveys, analyze the data, and then share the results internally or not at all. The families who took 10 minutes out of their day to complete the survey hear nothing. That is the point where participation in the next survey drops significantly.

Why sharing survey results builds trust

Families who complete surveys want to know two things: did anyone read this, and did it change anything? A principal newsletter that answers both questions explicitly is one of the most trust-building communications a school can send.

This is true even when the results are mixed. A school that says '40 percent of families reported that communication could be clearer, and here is what we are doing about it' is a school families want to be part of. It is also a school that will get better survey response rates next time.

How to select what to share

Most school family surveys generate more data than belongs in a newsletter. Select two to four findings to highlight:

• The most positive result from a domain families care about (school safety, teacher quality, communication)
• The area with the most significant room for improvement
• Any result that directly responds to feedback from a previous survey ('Last year you told us X. Here is what changed.')
• A result that surprised you and why

The format that works

Each finding should have three parts:

• The data.'87 percent of families rated school safety as good or excellent.'
• What it means.'That is our highest safety rating in four years and reflects the changes we made to the arrival procedure in September.'
• What comes next.'We are keeping those procedures in place for next year.'

For areas of concern, the same three-part structure applies:

• The data.'62 percent of families said they find the school's communication calendar hard to follow.'
• What it means.'We know our current schedule includes multiple overlapping events with inconsistent communication.'
• What comes next.'Starting in January, we will send a single monthly calendar in the principal newsletter with all events confirmed before the newsletter goes out.'

Acknowledge criticism directly, not defensively

The families who gave the school a poor rating on something are reading the survey results newsletter most closely. If the newsletter minimizes the criticism, those families will notice. If the newsletter acknowledges it honestly and describes a specific response, those same families often become the school's most constructive advocates.

Defensiveness in survey result communication erodes the credibility the survey was supposed to build. Honesty builds it.

Thank respondents specifically

End the survey results section by thanking families who completed the survey and naming the response rate: '230 families completed the October survey. That is 47 percent of our enrolled families and the highest rate we have seen. Thank you.' Naming the response rate acknowledges the participation and signals that it mattered.

Daystage makes survey results newsletters easy to format with clear data callouts and action statements. Families who receive this kind of responsive communication stay engaged with every subsequent survey and newsletter you send.