I hope this message finds you well!
My name is Arick and I'm working on special projects at the Family and Community Engagement Office in the School District of Philadelphia.
The reason I'm writing is because we are attempting to institutionalize a feedback system internally within our District regarding garnering useful feedback from families concerning District policies and procedures that are periodically due for revision. We want to provide a list of options (e.g.: send out a survey, hold a focus group, etc.) for our offices which they can choose from in order to best engage families/the public constituency within our District and thus get feedback on policies and procedures. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for how to structure the framework/system, or what options should definitely be included?
Thanks so much for all your great work!
Thank you for writing us with your interesting and important question. We can offer some suggestions for your consideration, which may seem indirect at first, but which we think address the broader issue of getting good feedback – of course essential for a system like yours to achieve your goals.
One suggestion has to do with framing. Rather than give the impression that feedback is a task or chore, as something a parent has to add to one’s list, can you present it a positive opportunity? As in, for example, “Please help us work together with you, to improve education for your child, and also for all children at school in our district.” You’d want to make giving feedback as a warm and special invitation, a happy thing to do.
Another suggestion has to do with branding, or phrasing. When you talk about improving policies and procedures, we believe many parents’ eyes will glaze over. They may think (perhaps not without reason) “This is not for me,” or “This stuff is beyond me,” or “I’m not interested in policies and procedures; I just want my child to get a good education.”
So might you consider a different and more accessible phrasing, such as “Making our school work for you,” or “How we do things at our school,” or something along those lines? Something that would draw parents in and make them feel like partners in their child’s education and with their school (which they should be in any case). The idea is to make feedback seem simple, feasible, enjoyable, and, ideally, fun.
A third suggestion has to do with timing. It’s fine to have both focus groups and surveys, but your feedback mailbox should be open 24/7 and advertised that way. For example, “In our district, feedback is welcome, encouraged, and valued anytime; and here’s how you can give it.”
You could also promote a more regular feedback opportunity – let’s call it Feedback Monday – where on the first Monday of every week, as part of a short weekly bulletin that goes out to all parents, you promote a specific opportunity for feedback on a particular topic selected in advance (often with parents doing the selecting). You ask for feedback on this topic in particular, then post and use the results. You keep it upbeat and positive, paying attention to colorful graphics to attract the eye and stimulate response. You could certainly also combine this with larger parent assemblies a few times a year to talk about these issues in a group, in addition to smaller focus groups and surveys.
We think you may see where we are going with this. To get the feedback we think you desire, you may want to go beyond traditional boundaries, and see yourself as true partners with parents, closely working together for mutually-held goals.
We don’t pretend that our comments provide a complete answer to your issue. But we hope they indicate a general direction you could head in, and a general spirit you could build upon. We think it’s possible to create a culture of feedback, and a sense of excitement to go with it. Perhaps you can do this!
In any case, we hope some of these thoughts may be helpful to you. Thanks again for writing, and all best wishes for success.