April 2008 - Marketing Survey Results

128 responded to the survey, a 56% response rate overall. Respondents by homeroom:

Miss Krueger: 87% (13/15)
Mrs. Cherney PM: 80% (16/20)
Mrs. Cherney AM: 76% (16/21)
Mrs. Rozylowicz: 71% (15/21)
Mrs. Carbone: 69% (11/16)
Mrs. Stillo: 63% (19/30)
Miss Gaffud: 57% (12/21)
Mrs. Wick: 55% (12/22)
Mrs. Schultz: 53% (9/17)
Mrs. Moss: 52% (11/21)
Mrs. Kingery: 52% (14/27)
Mrs. Salek: 52% (12/23)
Mrs. VanIderstine: 48% (11/23)
Miss Biernat: 47% (7/15)
Mrs. Phelan: 45% (10/22)
Mrs. Rensch: 37% (10/27)
Mr. Murphy: 30% (8/27)
Mrs. McGlone: 25% (5/20)

The key decision-maker in the family when choosing a school:

Mother and father equally: 70%
Mother: 20%
Father: 10%

Grades in which students enrolled/transferred:

Kindergarten: 70%
First: 10%
Third: 5%
Second: 3%
Fourth: 3%
Sixth: 3%
Seventh: 3%
Fifth: .01%
Eighth: .01%

How parents heard about St. Joseph School:

Referral from family/friend: 26%
Parish bulletin: 16%
Mass greeters/announcements: 9%
Alumni or related to alumni: 7%
Parishioners: 7%
Live close-by: 7%
Web site: 5%
Signs/posters: 3%
Newspaper article: 2%
Letter: 2%
Brochure: 2%
Ad: 1%
Event: 1%
Other: 38%: Work in area, grew up nearby, looked at ratings of Great Schools website, Diocese website, sister parish promotion

Before enrolling, families participated in Open House:

Participated: 61%
Did not participate: 38%
No response: 2%

Favorite experiences during Open House:

Getting to meet the teachers and see the classrooms
Information about curriculum
Family spirit; warm, welcoming atmosphere
Felt valued
School was alive with positive energy; parents’ enthusiasm was contagious
Ability to speak to a parent that has been through the decision process
Appreciated the focus on values and discussion on academic excellence
Dedicated, friendly tour guide
Seeing the work of students displayed
Class sizes
Well organized, clean
Allowed child to get excited about school
Smiling, polite, uniformed children
Packet of information and forms
Pictures of Jesus on classroom walls

Areas for improvement for Open House:

Too crowded/chaotic
Overwhelming
Library is not the ideal starting point; choose an area with more space (the gym?)
Provide more structure
More focus on academics and programs; discuss academic achievements in specific way as well as school’s differentiators
Provide guides with grade-specific talking points
More one-on-one with families that have been at SJS for awhile
Presence of all the teachers/staff (not just primary grades)
Would be helpful to visit during school day to see teachers and students interacting
Office needs to be more responsive with returning phone calls and documents
Start earlier before all the school families arrive
Have Kindergarten teacher schedule a few presentations so she doesn’t have to keep repeating herself and answering the same questions
Provide more regular open houses and tours (not just once per year)
Conduct “Welcome to St. Joseph School” meeting to ensure a smooth transition and to explain school policy and procedures
Improve Open House lawn signage for better visibility
Upgrade first floor bathrooms, carpets window treatments to enhance first impressions
Showcase principal more prominently
Invite prospective parents to all-school Mass

As part of the tour of the school, the information that was most helpful included:

Faith formation, religious activities, all-school Masses
What to expect in Kindergarten
Curriculum, daily schedule, books used
Meeting teachers, principal and learning about their background, philosophies and teaching style
Attitude on discipline
Students’ work displayed
Class sizes
K-Club information
Discussion with other parents
Packet of information and forms
Tour of the whole school (not just classrooms), friendly tour guides
Facilities, safety
Extracurricular activities
Follow up call (post-tour)
Fun Fair invitation
Tuition
Lunchroom
Computer, music and art programs

Most important components when making the decision to enroll:

Academics: 93%
Faith Formation: 84%
Teacher and staff: 80%
Disciplined environment: 75%
Safety and comfort of facilities: 72%
Community: 70%
Technology (computer center/class instruction): 55%
Affordability of tuition: 48%
School communications (eMessenger, website, etc.): 48%
School uniforms: 47%
Extracurricular activities: 46%
Music and art: 43%
Parental involvement opportunities: 39%
K-Club/Extended Care options: 38%
Other:
- Looking for sense of “tradition”
- Has preschool
- Appearance of school
- Foreign language program
- Hot lunch program
- Class sizes
- Aides
- No-cut sports opportunities
- Bus transportation
- Public speaking experience/training
- Online curriculum
- Email communication with teachers
- Online access to homework, upcoming tests, grades
- Gifted program
- More help for students that need it
- Writing program
- Reading program

Favorite aspects of St. Joseph School post-enrollment:

Great parish school with wonderful spirit
Welcoming, family-friendly community that is caring and helpful in times of need – “it’s like coming home”
Lasting relationships are built with students, teachers, parents
Academics build a foundation for success
Dedicated, caring teachers and administration
Faith formation that is part of school day and everyday life
Sacrament preparation, all-school Masses and daily prayers
“Having ‘God’ and ‘Jesus’ among the first words my child learns to read”
Involvement of Fr. Jerome at school and events
How well kids get along; inclusivity/feeling of belonging
Small class sizes
Discipline, respect, trust and other values reinforce what children are taught at home
Everyone wants what is best for kids
Each child is encouraged to find what he/she is good at and given opportunity to achieve
The end result – children that excel in academics, spirituality and extracurricular activities
There is something for everyone
No-cut sports
Music (especially Christmas and VIP performances), art
Uniforms
Parent involvement
Moving forward with new ideas
Children feel very safe, comfortable, happy (“they are at home at school”)
Buddy system encourages teamwork, discourages bullying
Enthusiasm of students
Fun learning opportunities; kids seem to enjoy school
School functions/events/fundraising
Opportunity to give back to the community through service projects
K-Club and Extended Care

Satisfaction with the St. Joseph School experience overall:

Extremely satisfied: 35%
Very satisfied: 46%
Satisfied: 14%
Somewhat satisfied: 6%
Not satisfied: 0%

When considering parental opportunities to get involved, parents are:

Very involved: 39%
Somewhat involved: 59%
Not involved: 2%
Want to get involved, but don’t know how: 1%

From the student perspective, children are involved in extracurricular activities:

Very involved: 56%
Somewhat involved: 37%
Not involved: 6%

Those that would recommend St. Joseph School to others:

Yes: 96%
No: 2%
No response: 2%

Rationale for “Yes”:

Great, well-rounded school in which to learn and grow academically and spiritually

Wonderful community atmosphere; “we feel at home at St. Joe’s”

Structured, disciplined, faith-based environment

Appreciate how engaged teachers and administration are, as well as how they care about students

Affordable tuition

Keeps up with public school academics

Administration seems open to changes

Prepares students for success in high school and beyond

Believe in the school and what it stands for

“Academically, it’s hard to go wrong in Downers Grove; community is what sets us apart”

Opportunities for leadership

Suggestions to consider for future:

Foreign language program
Repair/refurbishment of facilities and playground
Preschool
Learning resource
Gifted program
More book reports/reading push
More presentation/public speaking training
Science Lab
Spring conferences to assess progress since fall
Better communication between teachers and parents, especially related to homework, projects and test preparation

Why I Like St. Joe's:

April 2008 - Marketing Survey Results