PRINCE ALBERT — The way that the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division collects parent surveys changed this year and the new method saw growth in participants.
Previously, the data was collected using the OURSCHOOL survey tool and now it is done internally.
This data was reported by Director of Education Neil Finch during the board’s regular meeting on Monday.
"My understanding is it was no longer an option to have it external,” Finch explained. “That was partly because we used to do it through our school and that was no longer an option. We wanted to continue to get parent feedback and so, internally, we've taken over asking similar questions to what used to be in OURSCHOOL data.”
The data collected this year doubled the previous number, in 2022-23 there were 377 surveys completed and in 2024-2025 there were 717 surveys completed.
“I'm happy with the uptake,” Finch said. “We have doubled so the amount people giving us feedback has increased substantially and what has come with that is that we've got lots of positive feedback as a result.”
There was no survey conducted in 2023-24 because of the data collection changeover. The survey asks if parents feel welcome, are informed, support learning at home, support learning overall, school support positive behaviour and if the school is safe and inclusive.
The survey returned for 2024-25, with parents rating the division in several areas from one to five. That number was doubled to create a grade out of 10, which is the rate the OURSCHOOL data uses.
According to the ratings average, Felt Welcome received an 8.4, Feel Informed received a 7.9, Support Learning at Home received a 9.3, Support Learning Overall received an 8.3, Believe the school supports positive behaviour received an 8.5, View our Schools as Safe received an 8.1 and Believe School is Inclusive received an 8.0. The division is also hosting an engagement event on Feb. 3, which is invitation-only. The list of attendees includes School Community Councils, Sask Rivers Students for Change (SRSC), senior administration from the school and division level and trustees.
The event is at the Prince Albert Wildlife Federation. Finch said they are still working on the agenda.
"There will be lots (of discussion) around strategic planning and also our Strat plan progress to date and how we're doing, what are those things that are going really well and what are some challenges that we still have as a school system,” Finch said.
The division also has engagement sessions planned on Monday, Jan. 20 with a session with RMs, towns and villages and a meeting with local MLAs on the same day.
They also had the annual engagement with the Prince Albert Area Teachers Association (PAATA) on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Finch added that all of the engagement sessions are great because of the new makeup of the board of education following the election on Nov. 13, 2024. [email protected]
