RESULTS: PDNPA 2009-2010 Program and Fundraising Survey

PDNPA Overview

The PDNPA currently raises funds each year to wholly support the following school-wide programs:
*Enrichment* (Lawrence Hall of Science, Capoeira / Head over Heels and Drama, Field Trips)
*Duck’s Nest Community Events (Kindergarten Night, Fall Festival, Holiday Parties, Literacy Day, Auction Night, Parents Night Out)
*Teacher Appreciation (Birthday and Holiday/Year-end “Appreciation”, end of the year dinner)
*PDNPA Operations (Accountant, Insurance, License and Fees)

Fundraising is accomplished through:

• Annual Auction
• Holiday and End of Year solicitations for Teacher Appreciation
• T-shirt sales, PNO, Scrip, Ecometro Guides
• Individual miscellaneous donations 

*Music & Spanish w/Mariela is a Duck’s Nest funded program

SURVEY RESPONDANTS

*87 surveys were distributed to parents in the Duckling, Gosling, Woodduck, Mallard & Mandarin classrooms

*A total of 57 parents responded (about 66% or 2/3^rds of the total parent community)

*At least 50% of parents in each class responded

*The Gosling class had the highest response with 16 surveys

I.               PDNPA PROGRAM ASSESSMENT

In assessing priority, we calculated a weighted average for the 59 responses with the following scale: Highest = 5, High = 4, Average = 3, Low = 3 and Lowest = 1

The following programs are ranked in order of priority:

Priority 1: Enrichment                                     4.6 (High to Highest)

Priority 2: Teacher Appreciation                     3.9 (High)

      Priority 3: Equipment (Average-High)             3.5 (Average to High)

      Priority 4: Community (Average-High)           3.3 (Average to High)

      Priority 5: Teacher Enrichment/Education      3.2 (Average)

  

            Summary of Findings & Comments

            Enrichment (High to Highest)

1.     Enrichment is a critical component to Duck’s Nest with 56 of 59 families believing it is Highest or       High priority

2.     Several families felt Enrichment should be covered by tuition and is a “basic” part of the children’s learning

3.     Some families felt there needed to be more transparency or better communications from Duck’s Nest around what the PDNPA funds and what Duck’s Nest funds with regards to Enrichment

4.     Core enrichment should include a Science program like LHS, a Language immersion program of Spanish and age-appropriate Music Instruction

5.     Secondary enrichment programs, possibly covered by PDNPA to supplement the Core programs, could be: Drama, Guest Speakers, HOH, Chabot, Dance/Yoga

6.     Overwhelmingly, Spanish was mentioned as the main missing element from the 2009 program with confusion regarding the plan for Spanish via Mariela. Most felt that Mariela was not a sufficient substitution for a dedicated Spanish program.

7.     The feedback on the current Music program was that Mariela was “great” for the younger kids but the older kids could benefit from more music instruction and interaction

8.     The majority of families were Happy/Very Happy with LHS. HOH and Drama followed with OK/Happy.

            Community (Average to High)

1.     Majority of families were happy with the number of Community Events.

2.     Those interested in More events cited classroom-only events to help build the parent community within the classroom, like Happy Hours or more Pot Lucks. Sometimes school-wide events can make it difficult for new families to meet other families and there is more chaos with the children.

3.     20% of the respondents felt that Philanthropy should be considered as a PDNPA initiative.

4.     Philanthropic activities could be centered around an ongoing program (like Haiti) or around periodic or seasonal events and should engage/involve the children as much as possible (Earth Day, Holiday trips to senior-assisted living, sandwich making for homeless shelters)

           

            Teacher Appreciation (High)

1.     Teacher Appreciation support from the PDNPA should continue; 43 of 59 considered it to be the High or Highest importance

2.     Some commented that efforts to raise money in this are should be done in the classroom to make it more personal

            Equipment (Average to High)

1.     48 of 59 families felt Equipment/School Improvements were Average, High or Highest Priority

Teacher Enrichment (Average)

1.     This was the most polarizing category. 31 families felt Teacher Enrichment was Lowest-Average Priority while 28 felt it was High to Highest.

2.     Many believed that education for the Teachers is a priority but one that they believe is the responsibility of the school administration and likened it to many businesses who offer education classes to help their employees (and business) succeed. They felt it should be a factor of tuition and not a fundraising responsibility.

  

II.              FUNDRAISING

            The Annual Auction is the largest PDNPA fundraising source. 85% of PDNPA’s budget is made possible by the Auction (see pie chart for allocations). Ticket prices cover the main cost of the Auction with revenues coming mostly from purchases. Approximately 55% of families attend the Auction.  75% of families support the Auction through attendance, donations, or solicitations.

            We employed a similar weighted average system to the five Fundraising categories: auction, one-time check of $250, 2-3 smaller fundraising initiatives, no fundraising & other with the following weights: YES=3, MAYBE=2 and NO=1

Results

Auction:                       2.8 (YES)

One-time check:         2.2 (MAYBE)

Other:                          2.2 (MAYBE)

2-3 Smaller:                 2.1 (MAYBE)

No fundraising:            1.3 (NO)

  

Summary of Findings & Comments

Auction

1.     48 of 59 families (57 families responded to this question) indicated YES, they would support the Auction. 7 families marked MAYBE and 2 families said NO.

2.     Some families felt the Auction was also a great Community-building event in addition to a fundraising necessity

3.     Suggestions for future Auctions: more food, re-consider the sit down meal, keep it casual, start fundraising much earlier, increase Auction communications with the committee and the school. Auction chair should be a visible part of the school events to try to rally parents more.

4.     Some people who were in support of the Auction also mentioned that although they felt Enrichment should be absorbed by tuition/Duck’s Nest,  they still felt fundraising could help in other PDNPA initiatives (teacher appreciation, community events, secondary-enrichment, etc.)

            No Fundraising

            1. Only 4 people indicated they would support no fundraising and 4 people marked MAYBE. Comments from these individuals mentioned that they chose NO because they felt that the Enrichment programs, though very important, should not be made possible by the PDNPA but by the school.

  

III.            PARTICIPATION

             Over two-thirds of the parents responding to this survey are actively involved in supporting Duck’s Nest either in volunteering their time or through financial contributions. 75-95% of the respondents have supported the auction in some way, by attending, donating, organizing or purchasing. 58 of 59 families indicated they were somewhat to very familiar with the role of the PDNPA, with the majority responding  “SOMEWHAT”.

Participation Level

 73%     I have attended PDNPA community events (see PDNPA Overview for examples)

 32%     I have attended a PDNPA board meeting

 76%     I have volunteered to help in the classroom or on field trips

 37%      I am a room parent or have been a room parent

 80%       I have attended the Annual Auction

 95%      I purchased my child’s Auction Art Project 

 76%      I have donated to or solicited on behalf of the Annual Auction (included sponsoring a   

                     teacher or purchasing a wine raffle ticket)

12% I have been on the Auction committee

 66%       I have made a miscellaneous donation (not Auction related) and/or contributed to the 

                     Holiday Teacher fund

14%      I have served on the Board as an Officer or Committee Member

  

Conclusion

Two-thirds or roughly 66% of the families at Duck’s nest responded to the survey, with the majority of these respondents being actively involved in supporting the school and the PDNPA through their time and financial contributions. They represent all the classes at Duck’s Nest.

The overwhelming majority indicated that Enrichment was a very significant factor in their child’s education followed by Teacher Appreciation. Community and School Improvements were moderate factors and Teacher Education Programs were the least significant.

Most families felt strongly that Language (Spanish) be re-introduced to the curriculum and separated from the Music program.

Nearly all families enjoyed Lawrence Hall of Science.

Music should also be a core program with many feeling Mariela was a terrific teacher for younger kids but not the older ones.

Secondary Enrichment could be Movement/Head Over Heels/Dance/Yoga , Drama or Programs from MOCHA, Chabot, East Bay Parks (Naturalist classes), Tools of the Mind, and Guest Speakers

While the importance of Enrichment was clearly emphasized, several families who commented shared a belief that the school should be offering Enrichment as a core staple of the education and should be covered in the tuition.

However, the majority of families support the concept of the Auction and continue to see fundraising as a vital role in PDNPA activities, with the funds going towards other (secondary) enrichment programs, teacher appreciation, community events and possible school improvements.