The survey that collected information to help SM East win the School of Excellence distinction was due on Nov. 14th.
The School of Excellence distinction is an award given out by the National Parent Teacher Association. The award is given to schools and their PTSAs that work together to create a school improvement goal for the year.
Principal Jason Peres sent out the survey on Oct. 27 and again on Nov. 12. Its purpose was to help the PTSA gain information to create the school improvement goal, a plan for SM East to better the school.
Before the Nov. 14th due date, 217 parents in the SM East community took the survey.
“So what we do is we work with our PTSA to create a survey that we send out to the entire school and community,” Peres said.
SM East and their PTSA look over the survey results and then create a plan to improve the school based off of the survey’s results.
In the second semester, Peres sends out the same survey again to see if their efforts made a difference.
Once the survey results are in for both semesters, SM East and the PTSA use the data to create a proposal for the National PTA, which they review to decide if SM East qualifies for the School of Excellence award.
“[The award is] very prestigious actually,” SM East PTSA President Stacey Grecian said. “It’s kind of tedious and there’s a lot of steps to it, but it’s just a way to show that your community is engaged with your school and everyone is happy.”
The survey asked for families’ feedback on many topics, such as how the school and PTSA handle respect, communication, student progress, the families’ knowledge on who to talk to about their child, involvement with decision making at school and awareness on services in the SM East community.
SM East has won the award in the past. The award is given to the school for two years, meaning if SM East wins it this year, they will be known as a school of excellence for the next two years.
Grecian believes that if SM East wins the award, it will help guide families to decide on whether or not to enroll their children at SM East.
“When people are moving to Kansas City and they’re looking between going to Shawnee Mission East or Pembroke or Rockhurst, I think that the School of Excellence award [will] show that we are a deeply committed and very involved PTA with the school,” Grecian said.
Peres says that SM East and the PTSA will still work towards following the school improvement goal and bettering the school even if they don't win the award.
“So [if] for whatever reason we didn't earn the honor of distinction, we're still going to continue to do the work and partner with our community,” Peres said. “The awards and accolades are always nice to have, but I don't think they’re a necessity to do the work that we need to do.”
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