You may recall that I have several times mentioned that we would conduct a parent/guardian survey this fall. The survey is now available online and I am writing to ask you to fill it out as soon as possible. If you do not have the web address for it, please call Liz Dempsey at 620-525-4300.

Why do we ask you to complete a survey? During my fourteen years as the Head of School at Shipley I have been privileged to work with wonderfully committed and talented students, teachers, and parents. We have worked hard to improve as a school, to fulfill our mission, and to meet the needs of our students. Understanding that this process is never ending, we have repeatedly questioned ourselves, sought feedback from others, and implemented appropriate improvements to become the best school possible. An important part of this process is to find out what parents think. In 2002, parents and guardians filled out a survey that inspired a number of improvements that we have made over the ensuing years. We now are repeating the process because in order for us to become a better school, it is important for us to know on a regular basis what you think.

The purpose of this survey is to:

• help us to understand your perception of our strengths and weaknesses
• compare our performance to benchmarks created through previous surveys
• create new benchmarks against which to measure future performance
• record your thoughts and input for continuous improvement

The online questionnaire should only take about fifteen minutes to complete. If there are any questions that you would prefer not to answer, please feel free to leave them blank. If you have more than one child enrolled at Shipley and your answers would differ for each, you are welcome to complete a questionnaire for each child. Once you have completed the questionnaire, simply push the submit button and it will go directly to Lookout Management, Inc., the firm that will tally the results. Note that all answers are strictly anonymous. Please do not identify yourself anywhere on the questionnaire.

We look forward to your feedback as a source for information and direction. We are eager to know what we are doing right and what we can do better. As we administer similar surveys to our students and faculty members, your response will be invaluable. The more responses we have to the surveys, the more meaningful the data will be. To allow for timely analysis, please complete and submit your questionnaire as soon as possible.

If you have any questions regarding this survey, or any other aspect of the School, please don’t hesitate to call me. Thank you in advance for your assistance with this project. I look forward to sharing the results with you in the spring of 2006.

Warmest regards,

Steven S. Piltch
Head of School