Central Kitsap School District sought opinions on what it was doing right and what areas could use improvement using an online survey process called Thoughtexchange. The results of that study are available online now for anyone to view.

4,104 participants submitted 9,074 “thoughts” and rated their thoughts and the thoughts of others by awarding 115,924 “stars” to the ideas they found the most compelling.

The full results of the study can be viewed online at http://cksd.thoughtexchange.com/. The results cover a wide range of topics and also include numerous comments from participants. The results can be viewed on a district-wide level, or readers can drill-down to look at results for one specific school.

“It proves that our community wants to engage with us,” said David Beil,  director of communications and community relations for the school district. Prior to using an online survey, Beil said, a community meeting might draw perhaps 30 people — much less than the 4,104 people who participated in Thoughtexchange. Beil said one factor was that the online survey allowed people to give their opinion at times that were convenient to them.

The CKSD school board will use the information to help guide the district’s strategic planning.

Thoughtexchange showed that the community members appreciated much about the district, including that school staff members care about students, that teachers are doing an amazing job, that staff members have positive attitudes and that the schools are positive environments.

“Keep doing what you are doing because this school is great,” one commenter wrote. “I am so happy that my daughter is able to attend Cougar Valley. I know that she will do excellent while attending school there, the teachers at this school are simply amazing.”

Another commentor wrote, “I feel that Silverdale Elementary is an amazing, caring and nurturing learning environment for my child to be in.”

On the down side, the survey also showed what areas needed improvement. Staff members wrote that they felt overwhelmed by their workload, especially due to working with Common Core mathematics.

“Expectations and workload are beyond what anyone can adequately accomplish,” one commenter wrote. “I stay from one to three hours BEYOND my paid time each day. It is stressful and frustrating.”

Better security, better parking and student drop-offs were also needed at the schools according to the survey.