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Teachers and staff in the Roaring Fork School District view their schools positively overall, according to a survey conducted in March, with one notable exception.
Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale received the lowest scores of the three area high schools.
Certified staff members (teachers and others whose job in school requires certification) were asked a series of questions to measure their individual school’s culture, strategic initiatives, community partnerships and academic excellence.
In nearly every measure, RFHS ranked far below the district average.
RFSD overall results
It’s no secret that teachers at RFHS and some in the Carbondale community have been critical of current Principal Brett Stringer.
Stringer announced April 4 that he would step down as principal at the end of the academic year, noting in a letter to parents that his “transition into this community has not been easy.”
Despite low favorability in nearly every category, a majority of RFHS teachers still said they would recommend the school as a good place to work (60 percent), and a good place for students to learn (79 percent).
That was still below the districtwide averages for the same question.
Throughout the district, 85 percent of staff surveyed said they would recommend their school as a good place to work, and 92 percent would recommend their school as a good place for students to learn.
The lowest ranking category for RFHS was academic excellence, with 21 percent answering survey questions around that category favorably.
Three survey questions in that category touched on:
• The balance of “instructional, collaborative and preparation time” in the school’s schedule (8 percent favorable);
• How often data is used to improve student learning (23 percent favorable); and,
• How well the school communicates expectations to students and parents (32 percent favorable).
Roaring Fork High School academic excelence survey result
The survey, conducted by Panorama Education in March, includes responses from 80 percent of staff across the district, or 363 employees. A total of 26 teachers and staff at RFHS answered the survey.
Crew less effective in high schools
At all three high schools — Roaring Fork, Glenwood Springs and Basalt — some of the lowest results on the survey had to do with professional development and the benefits of what’s known as Crew.
Crew is a dedicated time of day where students meet in small groups, supervised by an adult, and focus on developing character skills, what the district refers to as “Habits of a Scholar,” and “social-emotional learning and academic goal-setting.”
Throughout all district schools, 53 percent of staff surveyed answered favorably that Crew “(enhanced) academic goal-setting, character development and positive school culture.”
Within high schools, however, teachers appear to have a less favorable opinion of Crew than the districtwide average. At both Roaring Fork and Glenwood Springs high schools, 24 percent responded favorably. At Basalt High, only 13 percent of staff respondents had a positive outlook on Crew.
In determining the favorability within the survey, the district did not consider neutral responses, like “somewhat well” or “somewhat agree,” as positive.
