Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2024-2025 Parent Survey! Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us continue to grow as a school and community. Here are some of the key highlights and areas for improvement based on your responses:
Highlights
Strong Community Ties
- Over 82% of respondents are parishioners at SMM, demonstrating the strong connection between our school and parish.
- The school’s mission and curriculum are closely aligned with Catholic faith values, with 87% of parents confirming this integration, and 86% indicating that opportunities for prayer and sacraments are regularly available.
- The majority of parents feel confident that our teachers know their children well, with 94% affirming strong connections between staff and students.
Academic Strengths
- A significant number of families—85%—feel the school’s academic demands are balanced, and 82% agree that homework loads are appropriate.
- Faith formation and academic excellence are the top two reasons families choose SMM, with 43% of families highlighting Catholic values as their primary motivator.
Strong Communication
- Our school newsletters are highly valued, with 86% of families finding them extremely relevant to their needs. Additionally, 79% of parents are satisfied with the volunteer opportunities available, contributing to our strong community engagement.
Welcoming Environment
- An impressive 82% of parents feel welcome at SMM, and 68% feel their input is actively welcomed, which speaks to our commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive atmosphere.
Areas for Improvement
Opportunities for Academic Growth
- While 85% of parents feel the academic demands are well-balanced, 33% feel that more guidance is needed on how to support their child’s academic growth. We will continue to explore ways to improve communication in this area.
- Subjects like Math and Science received more varied feedback, indicating an opportunity to further support and enrich learning in these areas.
Limited Alumni and Extracurricular Engagement
- Only a small percentage of current parents have children who have graduated from SMM, which suggests a need for greater alumni engagement and connection.
- Our extracurricular offerings, particularly clubs and sports, were ranked lower compared to other factors in enrollment decisions. We are committed to exploring ways to strengthen and highlight these opportunities for our students.
Parent Partnership in Faith
- While 87% of parents feel the curriculum aligns with Catholic teachings, only 73% agree that the school maintains an active partnership with parents in fostering faith development. Strengthening this partnership will be a priority moving forward.
PowerSchool Use
- We noticed that 92.5% of parents do not check PowerSchool daily, and many are unclear about the platform’s value. We’ll work on improving communication around how parents can best use this tool to support their children’s academic progress.
We are excited about the positive feedback and committed to addressing the areas where there’s room for growth. Thank you for your continued partnership in making SMM a vibrant and thriving community!