• Frequently Asked Questions about the 2024-25 Staff Climate Survey 
     
     

    Q: How are response rates calculated for the Staff Climate Survey? 

    All staff who work at a school (principals, teachers, PIFs, counselors, facility and nutrition staff, librarians, secretaries etc.) and itinerant staff who work at multiple school sites (psychologists, counselors, occupational therapists, speech/language pathologists, nurses, implementation specialists etc.) were invited to participate through an online link sent to their district email. Staff were asked to respond about the school at which they worked most often. However, itinerant staff could request an additional link to the survey if they wanted to respond about more than one school. The response rate is the total number of permanent and itinerant staff surveys returned about a single school, divided by the total number of permanent staff associated with that school according to the Human Resources’ April 2015 database. Response rates can be greater than 100% if itinerant staff responded.        

     

    Q: Is the data confidential?

    As with all of our district surveys, we take the utmost care to ensure that staff’s survey responses are confidential and protected. Staff are emailed a link to the survey, but email addresses and other identifying information (staff name, employee id, etc.) are not stored in the same data file as their survey responses. There is no way to link a specific staff member with their answers to the survey. For school-level reports, we will only report how all staff responded. We will never report data for populations with fewer than 10 people in them. For example, we will never report how counselors at ABC Elementary School felt because there may only be one counselor at that school, making them easily identifiable. We will only report how all staff at ABC Elementary School felt.        

    Q: How will WCSD use the data?

    Schools may use the climate data to guide school improvement planning, spark discussion about school climate during staff meetings, and help identify areas of professional development and programming that might be needed. At a district level, administrators may use climate and safety data to identify patterns in school climate that will help guide decision-making. Data may also be used for writing grants and evaluating the effectiveness of programs aimed at improving school climate or safety. Finally, data may be used to monitor progress on foundational targets outlined in the district’s strategic plan.  

    Q: I work at multiple schools in the district. How can I complete surveys for more than one school?

    If you work at multiple schools, you can click here to find the surveys for each of the schools in which you work.

     

    Q: Where are the open-ended comments from the Staff Climate Survey?

    At the end of the survey, staff were asked if they had any other comments about the climate or safety of their school. They were also told that comments would only be used to examine overall patterns across schools and that no direct quotes would be shared with their school or with anyone in the district. Many staff named specific individuals, or specific details in their comments. This identifying information (names, phone numbers, detailed information) must be removed before we can send you a description of the types of comments written by staff. We will not provide direct quotes; we will only summarize the information provided by staff into major themes. To request these major themes from a staff climate survey, please email sarah.trescher@washoeschools.net and she will send them to you within one week of your request after summarizing the responses.                                                                                                             

    Q: Whom can I talk to about the WCSD Staff Climate Surveys?

    If you have suggestions about how to improve the Staff Climate Survey, would like help interpreting your data, or would like additional ideas about addressing areas of your school’s climate, please contact the following people: