Derby board hears equity survey: 555 more parent responses but members question statistical weight

Katie Toole, director of teaching and learning and co‑chair of the district's Strategy 2 committee, told the Derby Board of Education on Nov. 24 that parent participation in this year’s culture, climate and equity survey rose notably from last year. "We did see quite a bit of an increase of 555 additional parent surveys that were completed this year over last year," Toole said during a detailed presentation of results.

The increase was uneven. Toole said several buildings posted higher participation, and the committee added a QR code and paper copies at parent‑teacher conferences to boost responses. She cautioned that larger response totals at individual schools can skew percentage changes, and she urged board members to examine raw counts when comparing year‑to‑year percentages.

Board members pressed for clarity on whether the results meaningfully reflect conditions across schools. "If we have 20 parents at Derby Middle School, but 95% feel this way, that's only five percent of the school," one board member said, arguing the sample may be too small to draw firm conclusions. Toole and other administrators noted the survey added comment boxes this year and an option for "not enough information," which helps contextualize some responses but preserves respondent anonymity.

Members discussed whether the district can responsibly follow up where students report concerns while still protecting anonymity. Toole said principals will receive building‑level data and take results to site councils and leadership teams to develop next steps. The committee also recommended collecting grade level information on student responses and tracking how many families completed a survey at a given building to improve interpretability in future rounds.

The board took no formal action on the survey at the meeting. Toole said principals will continue local review and the district will consider changes to survey design to increase turnout and analytic value ahead of next year’s administration.