Emporia Public Schools leadership was very pleased with the results of a recent climate survey presented during the USD 253 Board of Education meeting Wednesday night.
The presentation, led by Kansas Association of School Boards Assistant Executive Director of Leadership Services and former Emporia High School Principal Britton Hart, followed a survey sent out to district patrons and stakeholders in November, measuring areas of success and needed improvement across the district. The survey received more than 1,200 engagements, which Hart says was down “slightly” by 17 percent between 2023 and 2025.
Hart noted that there was no cause for alarm, as it is a trend they have been seeing across the state and have attributed to a survey fatigue of sorts, most notably among parents and guardians.
In terms of high points, or “quick wins” as Hart called them, the survey showed the district was excelling in the areas of superintendent leadership, building leadership, two-way communication, school climate, instructional environment and parent/guardian experience. As for areas that could see improvement or “potential growth” in Hart’s words, survey results pointed to student behavior and discipline consistency, staff support, workload and compensation, facilities and learning environments, scheduling and calendar clarity and mental health and student well-being.
Looking at the overall results, District Community Relations Director Lyndel Landgren stated the district found the report to be highly positive and noted there were no areas of surprise. That said, he did note there were several areas that showed improvement the district had been hoping for, namely, two-way communication.
The results of the survey come with the district in the home stretch of its cost containment preparations, with a series of recommendations set to be made on March 11th, following a special work session for the same purpose on March 4th. KVOE News asked Landgren and Hart if they believe the climate survey data could be helpful in those discussions, with Hart saying data is always a useful tool for any district in a variety of situations.
Landgren agreed and stated it could be a talking point come March 4th.
The district conducts a climate survey once every two years, with the last two surveys being overseen by KASB, with surveys before that time being conducted by Patron Insight.
In other business Wednesday, the board approved the adoption of an updated district facility rental usage rate structure and revised Emporia Public Schools facility use guidelines, adopted the Kansas Homeland Security Region I hazard mitigation plan, following similar action by the Emporia City Commission last month and recognized various educators for several recent honors, nominations and recognitions.
Additional details from Wednesday’s meeting can be found under the Boarddocs tab at USD253.org.
The USD 253 Board of Education will next convene on Wednesday, February 25th, at 6 pm inside Mary Herbert Education Center.
