craigdailypress.com

According to the results of a Craig Middle School survey, seventh and eighth grade students are becoming more satisfied with their school experiences.

The study, compiled and distributed by Principal Steve Wiersma, compared the responses of 350 students last year, to similar questions posed in the three previous years.

Some of the most valuable information Moffat County School District school board members learned from the report at Thursday night's board meeting revolved around student responses that stated they are enjoying reading more books and feeling an increased sense of school spirit.

Most students surveyed also said they were treated better by other students at school last year and students feel they are receiving about the right amount of schoolwork.

"I think the staff should be commended for the positive school data," said Superintendent Pete Bergmann. "Almost every line here is going in the right direction."

Principal Wiersma has been calculating the responses since he began the position at the school. His rating and how students view the school administration has increased in popularity with the students.

Four years ago 23 students chose "very poor" and 15 students chose "poor" to describe the way they were treated by CMS staff. Last year only three students marked "very poor" and eight marked "poor" to the question asking how they would rate treatment received by the principal.

"I guess it was because I was new then and now they're finding out I'm not so bad," Wiersma joked.

But some school board members wondered why student responses didn't follow the same trend of high ratings in a category that asked students to rate their learning attitudes.

While the survey showed students' learning attitudes have become somewhat more positive over the years, this response to this question lacked the survey's overall trend of skyrocketing improvements.

Last year only 14 students chose to describe their learning attitude as "excellent"--a response held by only four less students four years ago. Four years ago, 40 students rated their learning attitude as "good" but last year only five more related their learning attitudes as such.

"The learning atmosphere is going up but the learning attitudes are not rising as fast," Wiersma said. "If we want to see improved achievement here we have to get students thinking they are in control of their education."

Amy Hatten can be reached at 824-7031 or ahatten@craigdailypress.com.