Spanish Version of this Document
Dear Parent, Guardian, or other Legally Responsible Adult:
Our school is getting ready to administer an annual school climate and culture survey called Conditions for Learning to students in grades 3-12. This survey administration is required by the state’s plan to meet a federal law called the Every Student Succeeds Act. Our school will conduct the survey the week of April 3rd. All Iowa public school districts will use the Conditions for Learning Survey (Survey) to improve safety, student engagement and the overall learning environment so that all Iowa students have optimum conditions for learning. Our work to improve safety, student engagement and the overall learning environment will have a lasting impact on the future.
Iowa measures conditions for learning by asking the real experts each year - our students. This is their chance to make their voice heard, and we intend to listen. Studies have shown this work matters. Improving skills such as solving problems, working out conflict, and working with other people in a group has led to double-digit increases on achievement test scores, improved classroom behavior and improved attitudes.
All public schools in Iowa will use an online survey to assess the conditions for learning in their school for students in grades 3-12. Student responses will be confidential, and individual response data will not be available to anyone in the survey platform or in reporting. Clarke High School will receive aggregated data annually at the building level to support alignment of professional development with identified culture and climate needs.
We will ask your child to simply fill out a confidential Survey. The Survey will focus on issues ranging from student safety, to positive student relationships, to school rules and how they are enforced. A high rate of participation by students in completing the Conditions for Learning Survey is important for obtaining the most complete school climate data for our school. Support from you in communicating to your students that this is their chance to be heard and to be part of the effort to improve conditions for learning at their school is critical.
Thank you for partnering with Clarke Schools to improve conditions for learning in our schools throughout the state. Included is an overview of this opportunity, as well as:
An information summary about the Survey
A written refusal form if you do not want your child/children to participate in completing the Survey
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you again!
Sincerely,
Alan Dykens and Katie Enos
INFORMATION SUMMARY FOR CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING SURVEY
During April 2023, if your child is in grades 3-12, they will be invited to complete a brief Conditions for Learning Survey (Survey) online. Student participation in the Survey is highly encouraged, but is voluntary and no student is required to fill out the Survey. The Survey will take about 20 minutes to complete.
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the Survey is to obtain information about how students feel about the culture and climate of their school and teachers, as well as the safety of their school. The information collected will help the state, our schools, and local community improve the school. It is important to ask children to tell us what is good and working about their experience in school, and what needs to be improved, in their eyes.
Parental Rights:
You have the right and the responsibility to be informed about what your child volunteers to participate in at school.
You have the right to receive accurate information about the Conditions for Learning Survey in order for you to make good decisions for your family.
Confidentiality:
All information collected will be confidential. Students will use their state student identification number to complete the Survey to match the demographic information already being collected from student information systems. Individual student responses will not be identifiable in the reporting platform to any user, and no Department, district, or school employee will have access to identifiable student level data. Results are aggregated and only reported by subgroups for which there are at least 10 respondents.
Compensation:
There will be no payment or reward for students filling out the Survey.
Voluntary:
All students in grades 3-12 will be invited to fill out the Survey. Students will have the right to refuse to answer any questions on the Survey. If a student decides they want to change their mind and not complete the Survey they may do so.
If, as a parent or legally approved adult, you do not want your child/children to participate, you must send the school the Refusal of Consent form provided in this letter, and your child/children will be provided with another activity during the Survey class period. There is no penalty for anyone who decides not to participate.
Risk:
There is no direct risk in filling out the Survey. Students may find some questions uncomfortable or difficult to answer. They may leave blank any question they do not wish to answer and may stop taking the Survey at any point.
Benefits:
The data collected throughout the state will provide schools and communities with the information they need to provide programs that will support schools, communities and families in keeping their children safe and hopeful about their future.
Reviewing the Surveys:
The Survey questions are available using the links below, or you may request copies from your school:
Grades 3-5 Conditions for Learning Survey
Grades 6-12 Conditions for Learning Survey
Questions:
Questions regarding the Conditions for Learning Survey are welcome. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your school principal or cfl@iowa.gov at the Iowa Department of Education.
If you choose you can have your student not complete this survey. You will need to bring in a signed copy of the document below.