Timeline Stories

Focus Groups Delve Deeper Into Survey Results

101 students, parents, staff, and community members participated in two days of focus groups to give detailed input in the areas of Student Achievement, Community Involvement, Facilities, and Funding Priorities.

Moderators led stakeholders through discussions and Q&A for each focus area. Content area questions included:

Student Achievement/Graduate Profile

  • I think the profile of a Midway ISD graduate should be ___________________?
    • The first thing that comes to mind when I think of an exceptional school district is ___________________?
    • Based on the priorities shown by survey respondents for student achievement, Midway ISD should implement the following actions: ________.
    • Good role models are crucial to the positive development of our children. Who are role models and how are they influencing our children? ___________________________________________?
    • Based on the priorities shown by survey respondents for academic skills to be prepared for the future, Midway ISD should do the following __________________________.
    • Midway ISD can increase student academic success by _____________________________.

Community Engagement

  • When asked about Midway ISD I consistently respond by saying ________________________?
  • Parents should or should not choose Midway ISD for their children because ___________________________?
  • In order to engage and communicate with community members, Midway ISD should ________________________?
  • Survey respondents indicated that the top three strengths of Midway ISD are Faculty, Students, and Opportunities/Options. Based on this, the school district could benefit from the following opportunities.
  • Survey respondents indicated that the top three challenges of Midway ISD are Students, Size/Growth, and Teachers. Based on this, the school district should take the following steps ____________________________.
  • Would you hire a Midway graduate? Why or why not? (

Funding Priorities

  • Collaboration with the community to create private/public partnerships is a priority for the school board and administration. This can best be accomplished by _______________________________.
  • Survey respondents indicated that it was very important for Midway ISD to consider funding for academic programs followed by safe and secure facilities and less important for funding clean and updated facilities followed by technology. My reaction to that is _____________________________.
  • Based on the financial priorities shown by survey respondents, Midway ISD should ___________________.
  • Midway ISD strives to effectively use financial resources. Another idea of how to accomplish our financial goals with limited resources would be to _______________________________.
  • Are you familiar with the Midway ISD budget and allocation of funds? The most important information about the budget is ___________________________.
  • What role does Midway ISD play in economic development, the economy and quality of life?

Facilities

  • Survey respondents perceive that campuses are somewhat overcrowded. Upon reviewing this capacity chart Midway ISD should handle the growth by _____________________.
  • Midway’s elementary school structure is to accommodate about 600 students. What are the pros and cons for this?
  • Additional question: Midway’s middle school structure is to accommodate about 1200 students. What are the pros and cons for this?
  • Additional question: Midway’s high school structure is to accommodate about 2700 students. What are the pros and cons for this?
  • As we continue to grow, use of current facilities and perhaps reconfiguration will be a topic of conversation, when it comes to the Middle School specifically, one option is to build two new schools for equity and geographical purposes. The benefits of this and drawbacks are __________________________.
  • A ninth grade center and/or a Career Tech center is being discussed. This would be a great idea because____________________, but could also be a problem because ______________________________.
  • What other facilities/equipment should be a priority for the district?