Focus Group Participants Needed!

Elkhart Community Schools is seeking community feedback through a series of 50-minute focus groups.

As announced in September, Elkhart Community Schools has partnered with School IQ/SitelogIQ to complete a long-term feasibility/facility study. To date, the agency has completed a full evaluation and analysis of ECS properties and building assets, collected community input through surveys, and begun a long-range demographic study of the ECS district. With this work under way, the district is now seeking additional feedback and dialogue with community members through a series of focus groups.

“Community, collaboration, cooperation, and communication are essential to making decisions that keep the district moving in the right direction,” said ECS Board of School Trustees President Dacey Davis. “We partnered with School IQ and SitelogIQ because they prioritized community engagement as part of the feasibility study process. The School Board is committed to providing opportunities for the community to have an active role, like participating in the upcoming focus groups,” Davis continued. “Educating our children and rightsizing the district is a partnership. It is a process that Elkhart Community Schools cannot embark on alone. We need the help and support of the community in this process. The upcoming focus groups are a great way for the community to share feedback with the district.”

Planned for February 7 and February 8, the focus group sessions will center around themes identified through the community surveys to gauge community sentiments about various areas of the district. Specific dates, times, and themes are as follows:

Tuesday, February 7, 2023
6:00pm: Loss of Students, Families, and Staff
6:00pm: Public Relations and Community Perceptions
7:00pm: Trust and Faith in District Leadership
7:00pm: School Safety, Security, and Discipline

Wednesday, February 8, 2023
6:00pm: Collaboration between Board and District Leadership
6:00pm: Developing/Improving Community Connections
7:00pm: School Facilities and Funding
7:00pm: Improving the Educational Experience for Latino Families

All focus group sessions will be held at Elkhart High School (2608 California Road, Elkhart, IN 46514). All focus groups will have Spanish interpreters available and the eighth group session will be in Spanish only. The focus groups are open to anyone, including community members, ECS families, and ECS staff.

Individuals interested in participating are encouraged to register in advance: https://tinyurl.com/ECS-Focus-Groups

Upon completion of the focus groups, a Key Committee composed of teachers, support staff, administrators, business leaders, civic leaders, non-profit leaders, parents, and senior citizens, will evaluate the feedback as one part of the feasibility/facility study. In addition to the focus group feedback, the committee will also have data from surveys, the building/facilities study, and community demographics, as they collaborate to develop recommendations for the school board.

Additional information about the ECS Feasibility/Facility Study can be found here: https://elkhart.k12.in.us/feasibility