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Glendale Union is "What Parents Want"
by Bill Stout, former GUHSD Board Member

We are pleased and proud to report that once again, the Glendale Union High School District has been selected by SchoolMatch for the What Parents Want award. Glendale Union is among 2519 of the nation's 15,573 school systems so honored. Our district is in the top 16% of school districts in the nation, according to an objective set of criteria developed through data collection and parent surveys nationwide.

The award, which was announced in late March, is based on academic achievement, school safety, school climate and financial status.

SchoolMatch is an independent, nationwide service that helps corporate employees find schools that match the needs of their children. SchoolMatch also conducts educational effectiveness audits of school systems throughout the country. The organization maintains information on every public school system in the United States and more than 14,000 accredited private schools throughout the world.

As a member of the district governing board and a long-time resident of the district, I am proud of this endorsement from outside our district and state. But I am even more proud of the responses received by our own parents here at Glendale Union. Each year, our district completes a telephone survey of 1575 parents with 175 randomly selected from each of our nine high schools. The survey is conducted by an outside agency to assure objectivity. Our research department studies the survey results and presents its findings to the governing board. Results of the Spring 2004 survey of our parents shows that, overall, 93% of parents are satisfied with our schools.

Specific areas of school life are addressed under the broad categories of Administration, Teachers, Counselors, Parent Visits, School Grounds, Parent-School Communication, School Safety, Extra-Curricular Activities and Overall Parent Satisfaction.

In addition to determining parental opinions, a phone survey is taken in December each year to assess where our most recent graduates are six months after graduation. Our most recent data (from December, 2003) show that 80% of GUHSD graduates from the Class of 2003 were enrolled in higher education. We are pleased to see the large majority of our students are continuing their education and advanced training for future employment.

Our district mission is to "…empower students for the choices and challenges of the twenty-first century." Through data collection, continuous assessment and improvement through collaboration with teachers, parents and the community, we can truly show that this objective is being met. Our students are graduating with the academic, social and teamwork skills necessary to succeed in adult life.