A state-mandated survey shows that teachers at Oak Park and River Forest High School gave Principal Lynda Parker strong ratings last year, yet said that school’s instructional leadership and professional development are weak.
“This tells us we have areas to focus on here,” said OPRF District 200 Superintendent Greg Johnson. “And I’ll tell you ambitious instruction and supportive environment are two areas that need attention.”
The ratings come as part of the annual 5 Essentials Survey, a part of the annual Illinois School Report Card. It’s an online survey for students, teachers and parents. However, the most recent response rate among OPRF teachers was only 68.1%, which was lower than the state average of 75.6%. The low response rate could skew actual results.
When OPRF teachers gathered to fill out the survey there was a technical glitch that prevented them from completing the survey at that time. For students, the response rate was 79.5%, below the state average of 86.1%. And 21.9% of OPRF parents completed the survey, slightly above the state average of 18.6%.
It refers to the “five essentials” of effective schools, according developer the University of Chicago, which are effective leaders, collaborative teachers, a supportive environment, ambitious instruction and involved families.
“The idea is, if you’re successful in these areas and hit this threshold you’re more likely to produce results for kids, you’re organized for improvement,” Johnson said.
OPRF received weak scores in the effective leaders and collaborative teachers categories, neutral scores in the supportive environment and ambitious instruction categories, and strong scores in the involved families category.
Johnson and school board president Tom Cofsky noted that many other western suburban high schools also received low scores in effective leadership.
“We historically score low in effective leadership,” Cofsky said.
Lyons Township High School and Hinsdale Central High School also received weak ratings in the effective leaders category.
OPRF received a very weak rating in instructional leadership. That rating was based on responses from OPRF teachers. In specific categories of instructional leadership, the survey results were middling.
Teachers were split down the middle about whether the school’s instructional leaders provide teachers with useful feedback that allows them to improve their teaching, with about 50% of teachers on each side of the question. Another 54% of OPRF teachers who completed the survey either agreed (42%) or strongly agreed (12%) with the statement that a member of the school leadership team provided the support needed to improve a teacher’s teaching, while 31% of respondents disagreed with that statement and another 15% strongly disagreed. About 66% of responding teachers neither strongly agreed (11%) or agreed (55%) that the school’s instructional leaders make clear the school’s instructional goals.
On safety
OPRF also was ranked as weak in the categories of student and teacher safety.
About 13% of responding students answered that they felt very safe in OPRF’s hallways, while 47% said that they feel mostly safe, and 32% said they feel somewhat safe. About 7% reported that they did not feel safe in OPRF’s hallways.
For teachers, 48% said that physical conflicts among students was a problem to a great extent, while another 41% of teachers said that physical conflict among students was a problem to some extent. Most teachers said that there was no or very little gang activity at OPRF, with 37% saying that there was none and another 40% saying there was a little gang activity at OPRF, while 20% said that there was some gang activity at the school, while only 3% of teachers said that it was a problem to a great extent.
The student safety rating went down 17 points from 2022, while the teacher safety ranking fell 15 points from a year earlier. This is the category with the farthest drop, Parker told the school board at its Dec. 21 meeting.
Parker, however, received strong ratings from teachers. And OPRF received a strong rating in teacher-principal trust, with about 98% of teachers saying that they trust the principal. Approximately 96% of teachers said that they feel respected by the principal, with 79% of teachers strongly agreeing with that statement.
At OPRF, Parker tends to focus on school management and school climate issues while Assistant Superintendent for student learning Laurie Fiorenza takes the lead on instructional matters.
The score for quality professional development increased the most, jumping 13 points from 2022, but still remained in the very weak category.
OPRF scored highest in the categories of the socialization of new teachers, inquiry based science learning, parental influence in decision making and parental involvement in the school. English instruction was rated as strong while math instruction received a neutral score, as did the quality of student discussion.
