The Examined School: Surveys Give Thacher High Marks
Thacher was ranked first among a list of topflight schools in a survey conducted by the Independent School Gender Project (ISGP) that measures student perceptions of school and community life.
Selective college preparatory schools, including Thacher, like to tout data that show how selective they are, how well their students perform on tests, and where their graduates go to college. But when it comes to other important indicators of a school’s effectiveness—such as the health of the student community as it relates to stress levels, diet, sexual behaviors, and substance use—objective data can be harder to come by. And when such data are available, there is not always cause for celebration.
Thacher is the exception, as two recent surveys prove, providing clear feedback on Thacher’s performance in these areas. The results were very good. Thacher was ranked first among a list of topflight schools in a survey conducted by the Independent School Gender Project (ISGP) that measures student perceptions of school and community life. Another survey conducted during the 2008-2009 school year by Pacific Consulting Group of Palo Alto measured extremely high satisfaction levels among Thacher parents and students and showed that substance use by students is practically nonexistent at Thacher.
“The perceptions tabulated in these surveys are why we have the lowest attrition rate of any top boarding school,” comments Head of School Michael K. Mulligan. “But it’s something our faculty and staff all work at every day. We hand pick the best students, attract and keep the best teachers, and work together day in and day out to create a culture in which each student is known, is supported, and is challenged to be his or her very best. I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it sure is nice to have this work validated by survey results like these.”
According to the 2009 ISGP survey results, “The Thacher School is the very best of all 23 schools, with six grades of A and no grade of C. Earning one grade of A is unusual for a school. Earning six grades of A is truly outstanding and exemplary.” The study surveyed students’ level of comfort at school; perceptions of equity, stress and health; body attitudes and behaviors; lack of pressure regarding substance use and sex; and respect and diversity. Among the 23 schools that participated in this year’s survey were Cate School, Deerfield Academy, The Hotchkiss School, Milton Academy, St. Paul’s School, Taft School, and The Webb Schools.
Freshman girls gave Thacher the highest scores of any school for their level of comfort, their perceptions of equity, their lack of stress, and their ratings of Thacher as a respectful community that values diversity and does not tolerate harassment. In addition, they report healthier eating behaviors and attitudes about their bodies than most ninth grade girls in independent schools. Ninth grade boys also scored very high on five of the six subscales. Likewise, Thacher’s senior girls were notable in exceeding the national average, reporting behaviors and attitudes that make Thacher unique in fostering a positive body image in senior girls. Of all schools, Thacher received the highest ratings from senior girls on the “respect” subscale.
The IGSP was established in 1997 to "create a framework of research, assessment, and strategies for change through which schools can address gender-based practices and attitudes affecting girls and women in order to promote whole and healthy environments for both females and males in our schools."
The IGSB survey findings were echoed by the results of the biennial student and parent survey process Thacher conducts with the help of Pacific Consulting Group. This year’s aggregate overall satisfaction ratings offer very favorable assessment of Thacher’s performance: parent satisfaction averaged 6.6 on a 7-point scale; student satisfaction averaged 6.21 out of 7.
The survey also returned good news with regard to many important dimensions of student life. For example, the survey asked students to estimate the number of their peers who engage in drug or alcohol use on campus. The average estimate was less than 1 percent.
Free response items put these figures into words. According to one freshman girl, “Thacher is a campus full of kind, caring people who are sincerely interested in your development as a person, student, and friend.” Another puts it this way: “Compared to back home, Thacher is like a safe haven for me. The pressures I feel are positive here.”
“We don’t think families should have to choose between a rigorous academic program and a nurturing community,” said Michael Mulligan. “We believe we offer both here at Thacher, and the recent survey results confirm it. Of course, we don’t take these findings for granted; they are the fruit of our ongoing efforts to create these conditions on campus. These surveys are so valuable to us because, in addition to helping us measure success, they guide our attention to the things we could be doing better.”
This year’s surveys have focused the administration’s attention on areas of personal development and health. Parent feedback indicates that Thacher needs to take a look at the pace of student life and the balance of academic and extracurricular activities. Students share these concerns and seek better opportunities for nutritious eating and sleep. The school is also acting on survey input by making plans to provide more leadership opportunities for upperclass students, especially girls. “That’s why we do this survey again and again. These are things we can and will address,” said Mulligan.
Back
Thacher is the exception, as two recent surveys prove, providing clear feedback on Thacher’s performance in these areas. The results were very good. Thacher was ranked first among a list of topflight schools in a survey conducted by the Independent School Gender Project (ISGP) that measures student perceptions of school and community life. Another survey conducted during the 2008-2009 school year by Pacific Consulting Group of Palo Alto measured extremely high satisfaction levels among Thacher parents and students and showed that substance use by students is practically nonexistent at Thacher.
“The perceptions tabulated in these surveys are why we have the lowest attrition rate of any top boarding school,” comments Head of School Michael K. Mulligan. “But it’s something our faculty and staff all work at every day. We hand pick the best students, attract and keep the best teachers, and work together day in and day out to create a culture in which each student is known, is supported, and is challenged to be his or her very best. I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it sure is nice to have this work validated by survey results like these.”
According to the 2009 ISGP survey results, “The Thacher School is the very best of all 23 schools, with six grades of A and no grade of C. Earning one grade of A is unusual for a school. Earning six grades of A is truly outstanding and exemplary.” The study surveyed students’ level of comfort at school; perceptions of equity, stress and health; body attitudes and behaviors; lack of pressure regarding substance use and sex; and respect and diversity. Among the 23 schools that participated in this year’s survey were Cate School, Deerfield Academy, The Hotchkiss School, Milton Academy, St. Paul’s School, Taft School, and The Webb Schools.
Freshman girls gave Thacher the highest scores of any school for their level of comfort, their perceptions of equity, their lack of stress, and their ratings of Thacher as a respectful community that values diversity and does not tolerate harassment. In addition, they report healthier eating behaviors and attitudes about their bodies than most ninth grade girls in independent schools. Ninth grade boys also scored very high on five of the six subscales. Likewise, Thacher’s senior girls were notable in exceeding the national average, reporting behaviors and attitudes that make Thacher unique in fostering a positive body image in senior girls. Of all schools, Thacher received the highest ratings from senior girls on the “respect” subscale.
The IGSP was established in 1997 to "create a framework of research, assessment, and strategies for change through which schools can address gender-based practices and attitudes affecting girls and women in order to promote whole and healthy environments for both females and males in our schools."
The IGSB survey findings were echoed by the results of the biennial student and parent survey process Thacher conducts with the help of Pacific Consulting Group. This year’s aggregate overall satisfaction ratings offer very favorable assessment of Thacher’s performance: parent satisfaction averaged 6.6 on a 7-point scale; student satisfaction averaged 6.21 out of 7.
The survey also returned good news with regard to many important dimensions of student life. For example, the survey asked students to estimate the number of their peers who engage in drug or alcohol use on campus. The average estimate was less than 1 percent.
Free response items put these figures into words. According to one freshman girl, “Thacher is a campus full of kind, caring people who are sincerely interested in your development as a person, student, and friend.” Another puts it this way: “Compared to back home, Thacher is like a safe haven for me. The pressures I feel are positive here.”
“We don’t think families should have to choose between a rigorous academic program and a nurturing community,” said Michael Mulligan. “We believe we offer both here at Thacher, and the recent survey results confirm it. Of course, we don’t take these findings for granted; they are the fruit of our ongoing efforts to create these conditions on campus. These surveys are so valuable to us because, in addition to helping us measure success, they guide our attention to the things we could be doing better.”
This year’s surveys have focused the administration’s attention on areas of personal development and health. Parent feedback indicates that Thacher needs to take a look at the pace of student life and the balance of academic and extracurricular activities. Students share these concerns and seek better opportunities for nutritious eating and sleep. The school is also acting on survey input by making plans to provide more leadership opportunities for upperclass students, especially girls. “That’s why we do this survey again and again. These are things we can and will address,” said Mulligan.
This spirit of self-examination and continuous improvement has long been a part of the Thacher ethos. For proof, just read Sherman Day Thacher's letters to Horace Taft, his dear friend, confidant, and colleague in the boarding school business. Or open Roy Makepeace's Sherman Thacher and his School or Jack Huyler's The Stamp of the School. (All are available through the Library.) Or listen to the annual first-day-of-classes reading aloud of Oliver Wendell Holmes’s poem, “The Chambered Nautilus,” by Head of School Michael Mulligan—a tradition started by SDT over a century ago to exhort us all--as individuals and as a community—to stretch and grow and move beyond our present shell chamber into successively larger and "more stately mansions."
(And we don't mean the spanking new Hill Dormitories to house the sophomore girls and their prefects beginning next week—though some might call it stately indeed!)
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A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
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