La Jolla ISD survey: nearly 14,000 responses show high family favorability, lower secondary student ratings

Deputy Superintendent Derek Little presented the first district‑wide culture and climate survey aligned to the strategic plan, telling trustees "we had almost 14,000 people weigh in on this survey" including students, staff and families. He said families reported high favorability (about 82% overall) and roughly 90% of families said their school felt welcoming.

Little noted response rates by group: roughly 8,500 student responses (63% of students eligible to take the survey), nearly 3,300 family responses (he said most from elementary levels), and about 165 district staff responses. He said the results are a baseline with no prior year comparison but will be administered at least annually going forward.

The presentation highlighted that favorability and confidence trends decline as students progress to middle and high school: family and elementary results were strongly positive, while secondary students reported lower favorability (Little said overall favorability dropped to 42% among secondary students on average). The district tied five strategic‑plan measures to the survey and said campuses and principals will receive campus‑level trend data to guide local action.

What happens next: district staff said they will work campus by campus to dig into the data, communicate results to families and staff, and revisit the measures in future surveys to track progress toward strategic‑plan targets.