News

Thank you to those who completed the Volunteer Engagement Survey or attended the Coffee with Jon regarding our parent organization held just before Spring Break. The ideas offered and opinions expressed gave us valuable insight into the thoughts of our parent body. Our parent organization’s chief purpose is to support the mission of the school, but we recognize that Springmont is now serving a new generation of families and that it is time to refresh this vital community organization.

While survey participation was not as robust as we had hoped (7% of parents submitted responses), there are important and meaningful results to share.  

• Respondents feel that the most important school-wide events to attend are Opening Night, International Night, Academic Fair, and the Springmont Festival & Montessori Mile.
• Almost 50% of parents who responded indicated their “preference/vision for involvement in the Springmont community” is “attending as many class and school-wide events as my schedule permits” while 22% felt that “volunteering to help plan school-wide events” was their preference and 15% chose “volunteering in a leadership capacity” as their vision for involvement.  Most parents who wished to volunteer but had not yet done so commented that limited time/scheduling conflicts were significant factors while some parents noted they would like more detailed information about tasks and time commitments for the various volunteer opportunities.
• Almost 90% of respondents’ primary reasons for wanting to attend parent association meetings/events were “to be involved in the Springmont community” but high numbers also selected “to socialize with other parents” and “to see my child(ren)’s work and school experience.”
• The overwhelmingly preferred time for parent association meetings was 8:30 a.m. and the “best method(s) of communication about parent association meetings/events” were email reminders and Springmont Weekly News.

Taking survey and meeting feedback into account, Head of School Jon Alden committed to four important initiatives designed to allow and encourage more parents to become involved.

1. Simplifying our parent organization’s branding, most meaningfully by updating its current name from IMPACT (Involved Montessori Parents in ACTion) to something more easily and immediately understood
2. Requesting a parent representative from each class designated to attending each parent organization meeting
3. Having more frequent parent organization meetings, allowing meetings to serve as social opportunities in addition to discussions of upcoming events/volunteer opportunities
4. Continuing to emphasize the importance of volunteerism in the admission process

Our next parent association meeting is Friday, March 27 at 8:30 a.m.  We hope to see you there!