By Karen Neill

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This year MHS is participating in the Tripod Survey Project as a part of the Educator Effectiveness System. This survey is utilized by students to assess their teachers and allows teachers to get feedback directly from their students to adjust their lessons and help fit a majority of the student’s needs.

“In the survey, students are going to answer questions about their teacher based on certain categories,” said Assistant Principal Sean Takashima, “So it presents the students’ perspective of teachers at our school.”

All students will be taking the Tripod Survey unless they opted out; an option that was sent home to students in the mail. The students will take the survey once a semester during period three and will evaluate one of their teachers chosen at random each time.

The survey will provide communication between teachers and their students in order to develop an optimal method of learning. “It’s just nice to know what we think compared to what they think,” Junior Vien MiguelLaureta explained. “(Teachers) need to get input from the students they are actually teaching so they know what they are doing right or wrong,” added Senior Austin Dailey.

The desired outcome of this survey is that the students will trust that the teachers, as well as the administration, are doing their part in providing a quality education based on rigor, relevance and relationships. “It’s all about the students’ relationships with the teacher. How the teachers cultivate care in the classroom,” Takashima explained, “Studies show that when there is great trust in the classroom, students tend to achieve better.”

Changes caused by the survey may come soon after it is administered. Takashima explained, “After the students conduct the survey the school generates a report on every classroom. And so the school, and also the teachers, will get the feedback, so the teachers can review which areas they need to strengthen as well.”

MHS administration’s plans are to continue this survey in future years with the intention of furthering the quality of student learning environments and building a more efficient way for students to communicate with their teachers.