Learning Community: Tell Them From Me school survey

School Survey Roles

The following roles, while presented as distinct, might in fact look quite different at each location, depending on what works for schools locally.

The primary concern for TTFM staff is that the various responsibilities are managed in order to ensure effective delivery of this system to students. To date, in some locations, one person is playing several roles. Different roles have varying levels of access to the TTFM system for viewing survey results.

School District Roles:

1. District Coordinator (DC)

District Coordinators are the primary contact for TTFM staff. They determine the nature and scope of our agreement and pricing; assign schools to the TTFM system; engage with the Data Manager to ensure timely and effective student data upload. They are the primary conduit for communications and support between schools and TTFM support services, particularly during the start-up phase, determining district "drill-down variables" if appropriate, and supporting schools and School Coordinators in interpreting and responding to the findings of the surveys.

Ideally this is a person with some knowledge of computers and the Internet, a good understanding of and relationships with participating schools, and a commitment to the use of data for school improvement.

2. Data Manager (DM)

The District Data Manager is the go-to person for preparing and uploading each school's student data file to the TTFM system (this is primarily a start-up role), and possibly playing some role in trouble-shooting technical issues at the school level. While in some districts this role is performed by someone at the school level, it is preferable that a district-level person assumes this responsibility. The DM does not have access to any survey results.

School Role:

School Coordinator (SC)

The primary role at the school level is the School Coordinator. The Principal has the same level of access by default. The School Coordinator is the primary contact for the TTFM initiative at the school level. Most often the Principal chooses to delegate this role to another senior administrator within the school, although in some instances, particularly in small schools, they may take on the School Coordinator role themselves.

School Coordinators have a very critical role to play in the TTFM system. Not only do they have access to all the survey results; they also determine the most appropriate arrangement for operating TTFM in their school. They share this level of access and responsibility with the school principal (and as mentioned, in some schools the Principal is the School Coordinator)

To best ensure the smooth start-up and ongoing operation of the system, in our experience this individual ought to bring a combination of: an interest in and ability to engage others (students, teachers and parents) in making his or her school more effective at producing positive outcomes for students; a commitment to the use of data for school improvement; and a comfort level with basic internet and web-based operations.

The School Coordinator performs a critical role in the operation, including:

registering their school with the TTFM system;
determining the approach to operationalizing the survey at the school, including choosing the survey option most appropriate for their school setting;
determining the survey schedule for the year;
ensuring there is someone at the school level who will receive and distribute the usernames and passwords for students and teachers (most often it is the School Coordinator who does this);
determining the school's open-ended question(s);
responding to FAQ-type questions at the school level; and
ensuring that as implementation issues arise, they are brought to the attention of the District Coordinator or the District Data Manager, or The Learning Bar directly, as appropriate.

This role looks substantial, and it is. However, much of it is front-end loaded, and completed over the course of the certification process.

School Coordinators have access to all survey results for their school only. Principals have the same level of access.