Instructions: Please read this consent form, then provide the requested information at the end indicating whether you give permission (consent) to your child’s participation in the focus group. Return this completed Google form by 2 pm on Tuesday, 12/6
Why does FCPS need a new Strategic Plan?
FCPS wants to make all schools better and ensure we are all moving in the right direction together. The last Strategic Plan was created five years ago. A lot of things have changed since then. It is time for us to set a new direction based on where FCPS is now.
What is the purpose of the student focus groups?
The purpose of the focus groups is to understand how students feel about school and what they think needs to be improved. Students can help us understand how our students feel about school and what students think can be improved. All schools are holding these focus groups so we can hear from many students. The information will be used to guide development of the new Strategic Plan.
What will my child be asked to do?
Sometime between now and December 2, 2022, your child will participate in a group discussion that lasts up to 90 minutes with a small number of other students. Your child will be asked to share and record answers in an online Google Form to some questions about school. The conversation will cover three topics:
What is going well? What is not going well?
What matters most? (For example, school safety, relationships with teachers and staff, preparation for college or career, challenging classes)
The one promise students want from adults regarding their education.
If your child needs someone to help record answers online, a staff member will help them do this.
What good things might happen if your child is in this focus group?
The information students provide will help the FCPS School Board, Superintendent, and the community better understand student experiences and what is most important to include in a new Strategic Plan. Your child’s participation may help your child and other students at your child’s school. The information should also help students in other FCPS schools. Many students also find it helpful to express their feelings and describe their experiences learning in school.
What unpleasant things might happen if your child is in this focus group?
Answering questions can sometimes be uncomfortable but we think most students will find it comfortable answering these questions. To make it easier, students do not have to share any personal information, but can speak more generally about what they have experienced.
Students who participate in a focus group will probably miss up to 90 minutes of class time while other students are learning.
Does a student have to participate?
The focus group is optional. In addition to you giving permission, each student will be asked whether they want to participate in the group. Even if a student agrees to participate in the group, the student may choose not to answer any question or stop participating in the focus group at any time.
Will all students who have parent/guardian permission and want to participate be part of a focus group?
If there are more students with both parent and student permission than our school can fit into focus groups, we will randomly draw names of which students will participate.
Will other people know what my child said?
School staff overseeing the focus groups and the students in the focus groups will be asked to keep everything said during the focus group private and only discuss it in general terms. All the written responses from students will be recorded without their names. Unless your child has an adult helping them enter their answers, no one else will know how your child responded. Your child’s principal or other school staff who lead the focus group will know your child participated but will not know which written responses came from which student. If a teacher or other adult at your school helps your child record answers, that person is also expected to keep your child’s answers private.
Where will the information from the focus groups be kept? How will the information be used?
All the information from the focus group will be shared with the company FCPS has hired to help create the Strategic Plan. This company is Performance Fact, Inc. The focus group information will be saved within FCPS’ digital environment, where the advising company and FCPS staff supporting the development of the new Strategic Plan, will have direct access to the anonymous student responses. The data may be shared along with other people’s ideas with the community, so everyone understands each other’s views. Anything that is shared from students will be anonymous, meaning no one will know which student said what or even the names of students who were part of the focus groups.
I have no questions, please complete the remainder of this form. If you have questions, please contact Margaret Barnes at mfbarnes@fcps.edu before continuing.
