Your Voice Matters Survey 2018

Please visit the Your Voice Matters summary page.

Note: Families should have received an invitation to participate in the survey either via email or U.S. mail. Most APS staff received an email invitation, and some received paper surveys.

Why is APS conducting the Your Voice Matters Survey?

This new survey is a collaboration between APS and the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families (APCYF) to provide the Arlington community with a snapshot of school climate, staff engagement, and student and family well-being. Key topics include bullying, communication, safety, quality of instruction, collaboration, and cultural responsiveness. This feedback is vital in helping Arlington strengthen programs for students and families.

This collaborative effort has been undertaken to streamline previous survey efforts: the site-based survey, community satisfaction survey and Developmental Assets survey. APS and APCYF found that there were many thematic overlaps between the previous surveys and decided to develop a new survey that will reduce burden on survey takers, maximize impact of results, and keep on top of issues that matter to the Arlington community in a more timely manner.

Who will be impacted?

APS staff, parents, and a sample of students in grades 5-11 are all asked to participate in the Your Voice Matters survey. All survey responses are confidential, and your responses will never be linked back to you.

How can I participate?

Families will have an opportunity to complete a separate survey for each APS school in which you have a student enrolled; if you have more than one student attending the same school, you will be asked to respond based on the experience of your oldest child at each school. The survey is available in English and Spanish. To ensure confidentiality, privacy and security, the Your Voice Matters survey is being administered by Panorama Education, an independent educational research survey company. There are two ways that Panorama will send the survey to parents:

On Paper: Families without an email address on file with APS will receive surveys through U.S. mail. They can return the paper survey by mail using the provided business-reply envelope, or they can complete the survey online using the provided access code.

Online: Families with an email address on file with APS will receive an email invitation link to participate in the survey online. Support for this survey is available by contacting: support+arlingtonva@panoramaed.com.

What is the timeline?

April 16-27: A sample of students throughout Arlington County in grades 5–11 take their own surveys in school

May 7-18: APS staff survey window

May 7-25: Parents survey window

How will my input be used?

The superintendent will review a summary of each school’s results with the principal at the end of the school year to inform planning for next year. At the county level, APS and APCYF will work together to identify trends and areas for further action.

The overall findings from the Your Voice Matters survey will be published on the APS website this summer.