MESA, AZ — Mesa Public Schools leaders say they are taking a hard look at why 1,647 high school students left the district last school year, acknowledging feedback that points to concerns about school culture, teaching quality and student safety.
Findings from a recent survey by educational research firm WestEd show 31% of departing students said their families moved away. The remaining 69% cited other reasons, with 29% pointing to school culture, 20% to teaching quality and 20% to bullying and student safety.
Superintendent Matt Strom presented the survey results to the Mesa School Board in late June and told ABC15 he welcomes the feedback.
"We're a continuous improvement school district," Strom said. "We're not scared of feedback in Mesa Public Schools. We honor it. We want to take it in. We want to get better.”
Strom said about 150 people who left the district responded to the WestEd survey — a relatively small portion of the high school students who departed — and noted that some departures are part of normal transitions, such as students moving from fourth to fifth grade or eighth to ninth grade and choosing different options.
Mesa Public Schools administrators report that 91% of all students are returning for the coming semester.
The district is pursuing several responses to the study, Strom said, including new hospitality programs designed to steer students toward careers in restaurants and hotels and annual revisions to its student discipline system. He added that Mesa Public Schools expects about 4,500 new students to enroll this year. Classes begin August 6.
Mesa board members said they intend to reflect on the findings and use them to guide improvement efforts.
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