Where Do You Get Your School Information?

Parents have a number of ways to get the latest information on their children's schools. Some prefer email and voice mail messages, and others tune into TV channels 17 and 99. The Internet savvy visit Monroe Public Schools' website and use social networking like Facebook and Twitter.

Then there's the old fashioned way, going to meetings, reading notices students take home or through the media. The Monroe Courier, Monroe Patch and Eye On Monroe feature stories and photos on the news of the day.

On Wednesday morning, the Superintendent's Office emailed a short survey to parents to determine how they prefer to get their information and where they get it most. It was an initiative of the Board of Education's Communication Committee.

"The Communication Committee of the board is looking at the ways we communicate with the public, students, the staff and the community. What vehicle is the best?" Supt. of Schools James Agostine said Friday.

A 10-question SurveyMonkey survey will garner the information educators and school board members need to evaluate and to determine the best way to inform people.

"The goal is to better serve people and that's why we're looking at good, candid responses," Agostine said.

"The problem with communication in general is the people looking for the information find what they're looking for," he said, adding, reaching those who are not actively searching for information is the challenge.

"We really want people's information on this," Agostine said. "The better response to the survey, the better information we will have."

The Questions

The survey was put together by Dr. Craig Tunks, director of technology for Monroe Public Schools, and the link can be found on the school district's website.

Among the questions are:

• Which of the following communications vehicles do you use in staying up to date on Monroe PS news or activities?
• For the vehicles you use, which three (3) do you use most frequently?

Then these two questions are asked for each of the three vehicles chosen:

• Selecting one of the vehicles you chose please rate the effectiveness of the communication.
• For the communication vehicle you selected please rate the frequency of communication.

The survey ends with options to give more input:

• Are there additional communication vehicles you recommend we use, that are currently not available to keep you updated on school news and activities?
• Any additional comments or suggestions?