Parent/Staff CFL: Survey Overview

What are the Parent and School Staff Conditions for Learning Surveys? 

• The Iowa Department of Education (Department) has included Conditions for Learning as part of the plan under the federal education law, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), for identifying schools for improvement and support. 
• The questions on the Parent and School Staff Surveys use the same five constructs that are in the Student Survey and contain similar items. The five constructs are: Physical Safety,  Emotional Safety,  Adult-Student Relationships, Student-Student Relationships and Expectations/Boundaries.

Who takes the Surveys, and are they required?

• Schools may choose to administer the Parent Survey to the families of their students. All parents, guardians, or other adult family members of students in preschool through grade 12 are encouraged to respond.
• Schools may choose to administer the School Staff Surveys to their staff of all students in preschool through grade 12, which includes (but is not limited to) teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and support staff. 

How do parents and school staff take the Survey?

• The Surveys will be available from April 1-30, 2024 online via Panorama Education. 
• Steps for the school administrator are found in the Administration Steps & Timeline section.
• It is strongly encouraged that schools use the PDFs below for ease of sharing the Survey links and instructions:
  • Survey Link and Instruction for Parents Guardians

Important! The link to the family survey previously shared is currently unavailable due to circumstances outside of Panorama's control. Families may use https://surveys.panoramaed.com/ia/family/surveys instead.

• • • Survey Link and Instructions for Parents Guardians (Spanish)
    • Survey Link and Instructions for School Staff
• The Survey will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete. Responses are saved when the blue Submit button is clicked.
• The Parent Survey is available in English and Spanish translations, and the online Survey platform is compatible with most screen readers.

Can principals track participation in their school?

• Principals and others with an MTSS Building or District user role will be able to monitor the number of responses submitted for the Parent and School Staff Surveys in Student Success. 

Is the Survey confidential?

• The Survey is both anonymous and confidential. No school, district, or Department staff will have access to identifiable individual survey data.

How will the data be used?

• The data from the Parent and School Staff Surveys will not be used in any accountability calculations. 
• The data will be reported back to schools in a similar manner to the Student Surveys, so that they can compare responses for identifying areas of strengths and areas for improvement. 

Who can we contact for help?

• For questions about the Survey, results data, or other general topics, contact [e-mail]. 
• For technical questions about how to access the Panorama Student Success system via the Iowa Education Portal or information about the Panorama survey platform or participation monitoring, contact [e-mail].