Survey results reveal views on school curriculum, bullying and college preparedness

More than 4,000 students, employees, parents and community members shared their perception of Burbank schools on issues including safety, bullying and college and career preparedness on a survey that school officials recently discussed.

In taking a close look at the results, Burbank school officials said they are hopeful to gain clear direction on where they can make improvements.

“What we want to use in this data is to go out and ask, ‘How can we do better?’ said Burbank Supt. Matt Hill during a recent school board meeting.

Between May 9 and June 10, 685 students filled out surveys, along with 747 Burbank Unified employees and 2,881 parents. Forty-two community members also weighed in with their opinions of local schools.

School officials found that students rated their preparedness for attending college lower than parents, said Sharon Cuseo, assistant superintendent for Burbank Unified.

While 47% of students said they were ready for college, 64% of parents said their child had a plan for college.

Cuseo noted, however, that the majority of students’ responses came from eighth-graders and not high school students, and school officials will work to gain input from more high school students next year.

“We’re putting in measures so that we can get more high school participants, so we can get a better feel for what this really is,” she said.

Larry Applebaum, school board president, suggested making the survey “easily digestible” for high school students to take.

“This is a customer service survey, and our customers are our kids. Ultimately, the drivers of everything we do are the students,” he said, noting the importance for the students’ feedback.

The data still provided crucial insight, particularly when it came to bullying.

While 61% of students reported experiencing bullying at school, 56% of parents reported their students had experienced bullying.

Verbal harassment was the most common form of bullying reported, according to Tom Kissinger, assistant superintendent of Burbank Unified.

Meanwhile, 33% of employees, he said, felt they needed training in order to identify and respond to bullying behavior.

“This is still a very, very big focus for our district,” Kissinger said.

Even as bullying emerged as a prominent concern, the majority of parents (79%) and students (62%) agreed that Burbank Unified provides a safe and positive learning environment.

When it came to academics, both parents and students, 74% and 68%, respectively, agreed that the curriculum is challenging for students.

Elsewhere, another focus for school officials is to expand their ability to provide technology resources and promptly help teachers and students when challenges arise with computers.

While 67% of students said that school officials provide adequate technology resources, only 27% of Burbank’s staff thought the same.

That gap will likely change next year, following the work that school officials will put into creating a new technology master plan, Cuseo added.

She’s already witnessed a renewed enthusiasm among employees who are part of the district’s technology crew.

“They have dropped everything to go meet a teacher in the classroom … because they know teachers need the technology to work,” she said.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan