Thank you to all of those who responded to the survey.  Please encourage your friends to do the same as we have already gleaned much information from just a few respondents. 

As of 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, 25 people have responded to the survey.  Responses fell in several general categories--I grouped the comments together to make it easier to digest the information.  Please email me if you have any questions at all regarding the responses.  I'll update the responses every evening.  Thanks so much!

Community Perception: 

• Not the dynamic school it once was
• Great
• excellent
• Good, but not as good as Rogers
• Many Problems
• As a great and rich school in terms of personality
• Strong neighborhood school
• Easily persuaded
• Community icon
• Best school
• Quality neighborhood school
• Good public opinion
• Very good
• Attendance of students from the neighborhood must increase.
• Good for a public school
• Strong, community, overpopulated
• Great reputation
• Very strong school
• Community school
• Good neighborhood school
• Strong
• Leaderless, ok, crowded, not neighborhood enough
• Expects high standards

Faculty/Staff

• Knows everyone and encourages parent involvement
• Teachers are committed to students
• Good office staff, kind teachers
• Strong teachers
• Great staff
• Supportive staff
• Great teachers
• Would like to see a dress code for teachers
• Would like to see a more professional office staff
• Teachers are very hard-working and understanding
• Public opinion of the school needs improvement.
• The level of professionalism needs to improve.
• Teachers are dedicated and creative
• Teachers are the best thing about the school
• Some teachers need to stop yelling at the students--the Principal should motivate them to be the best they can be in this and all areas

Curriculum/Academics:

• School needs to focus on learning and teaching children to think and less on TAKS
• School needs to be more challenging academically and keep the AR program
• School needs to work on teaching the curriculum and probably offer volunteer tutoring services
• More classes should be offered on Fridays
• More math classes
• BG needs a stronger academic program that challenges our children and is not just content with passing grades but strives to get the best out of all kids.
• School should be able to provide education for gifted and non-gifted students.
• Should be an exemplary school with an emphasis on math and science.
• BG should address the needs of all children from the accelerated to the remedial.
• New principal should not be satisfied with recognized status but should strive for exemplary status.
• More structure is needed in the curriculum
• The level of education needs to return to what it once was.
• BG needs to be at exemplary status.
• BG needs a stronger science and math curriculum.
• BG needs a well-definied GT plan that is in place for more than 1-2 years and looks at the academic strength of the students rather than placing more importance on class numbers.
• Students need more PE classes per week.
• The fifth grade academic program needs improvement.  It seems like BG's academics slack off in this grade compared to other schools.
• Principal should have knowledge and application of new teaching techniques and programs (less homework, more emphasis at lower grades of foreign languages) and should focus more on GT curriculum.
• Teachers need to stop teaching to the TAKS.
• BG should continue to excel academically for all students challenging higher achievers, assisting those who need additional help, but not letting those in the middle fall through the cracks.
• In order for BG to keep serving the BG neighborhood and attracting BG children, it has to show that it is academically strong and that the children will graduate from BG with the ability to succeed in any private or public middle school.

Demographics:

• New principal needs to understand and balance the needs and demands that come with the broad range of economic and racial diversity at BG.
• (Suggestion was made to group students demographically in order to be able to tailor the education needs to each group)
• Keep attracting the students from the neighborhood
• Principal must work to keep the neighborhood students at BG.
• The cultural diversity is the best thing about BG.
• The neighborhood feel is the best thing about BG.
• The neighborhood feel is the best thing about BG. (two different people made the same comment).

Parents:

• Great parent involvement
• Parents involvement is school’s best asset
• Parents raise a large amount of money for enhancements to the school
• PTO sponsors many enhancements to education (patriot day, 4^th grade Austin Filed trip, $ for  teachers to buy extra classroom supplies etc.)
• Great parent volunteers
• Great neighborhood and families
• Great parent involvement
• PTO needs to communicate better regarding details of meeting agendas, events and general information.
• Briargrove has a unique and strong PTO.  The new principal must know how to communicate and deal with the pressures of a lot of parent involvement.
• Great parent involvement
• Parents who care and are highly involved
• The free access to all the classrooms by the parents needs to be controlled and carefully monitored so that the teachers can teach.

Safety:

• Carpool lanes are dangerous off San Felipe
• BG needs more security control during entrance and exit for students and visitors.

Communication:

• This is the area which needs the most improvement at BG
• BG needs to provide parents knowledge of students’ achievements before the end of 9 weeks.
• BG should provide better communication on how students are progressing.
• New principal should be a great communicator with students, teachers and parents
• New principal needs to have an open line of communication with parents.
• New principal should communicate effectively his/her vision to faculty and parents.
• New principal should ask for feedback from parents and teachers.
• Communication needs improvement at all levels, beginning with the principal.
• Communication and consistency of expectations should be made more clear regarding programs and policies (example: GT, teacher assignments, schedule, class size, etc.)
• An effective principal must be able to communicate well with parents and students.
• Principal must be able to listen with an open mind and communicate effectively with parents and students.
• The area that most needs improvement is communication to all parents of things occuring at school.  The PTO is a wonderful tool...but we have to remember that the Principal is the leader of the school.
• If the new Principal does not communicate well, the community will not be able to place its trust in the position.  Bottom line--the PTO will run over a candidate that is not willing to push back and defend not only the decisions made in running the school but more importantly BACK their staff.  If not, the school will lose talent.

Vs.Private:

• BG needs to have more of a private school feel in the classrooms.
• BG should be competitive with private and vanguard schools in the area.
• BG should provide a high quality education and encourage a high level of parent involvement so that neighborhood parents do not feel they need to send their children to private school.
• BG should be an option for the whole neighborhood (so many choose private school) and lead into a great Grady feeder pattern.
• People should feel like Grady and Lamar are good options after BG.
• It should be a given that people living in the neighborhood send their children to BG.

Leadership:

• New principal should provide the necessary resources to accomplish his/her vision.
• New principal should address all issues promptly and decisively based on the vision for the school.
• Principal should be organized ambitious and compassionate to teachers, parents and students.
• Principal should be involved with every student-knowing and rewarding the high-achieving students and providing the necessary resources in order to help the underachieving students succeed.
• Principal must want the best for the school and be able to work with the involved parents, open to taking advice from the community
• Principal should be both friendly and strict.
• Principal should be proactive and positive.
• Leadership is the area where BG most needs improvement.
• Principal should lead in all areas--have a clear vision for the school, lead and earn respect from teachers, parents and students.
• Principal must not be afraid of the parents especially when he/she knows his/her information is correct.
• Principal must have common sense in regard to the decisions that are made for the school and be able to anticipate the outcome of decisions  and know how to effectively answer tough questions.
• Principal must listen to the needs of the school community and support community efforts. 
• Principal must focus on the needs of the students and community as a whole.
• Principal must be a good leader with mutual respect for faculty, students and parents.
• Principal must be a strong and respected leader who listens but then makes his/her decision and is not swayed by a few parents or teachers.
• Principal must understand diversity in the school space and promote equalitarian doctrine.
• Principal must be available to listen with an open mind.
• Principal must be tolerant and focused.
• Principal should be innovative, a strong leader and open to new ideas.
• Ann Sledge is an example of a great principal.
• We need to find someone like Ann Sledge with a vision and the charisma to lead the school toward it.  
• Principal should lead the school to greatness by hiring highly professional teachers.
• Principal should instill respect for the school among teachers, parents and students.
• Principal should lead enthusiastically with charisma and draw everyone together to work as a team.
• Principal should not be a 'yes man'.
• Principal should establish a culture that promotes the neighborhood feel of the school and relies on parental involvement and participation and offers a top-notch education with the help of top-notch staff of teachers.
• Principal should be a strong, decisive leader but relational with the kids.
• BG needs a strong principal who can cast a vision and lead its teachers as well as parents.
• Principal should support his/her teaching staff, embrace PTO support and above all strive to improve the educational quality and environment of the children without trying to please every single parent.
• Principal should be a strong leader with business sense, an interesting and confident speaker.
• Principal should above all have a true love for children.
• Principal should have the fortitude to run a business with very diverse shareholders and at the same time be able to give in when necessary and stand firm when necessary.
• Principal should be motivating and innovative
• Principal should have a clear vision of the future and be able to plan for it.

Building/Grounds:

• Clean, well-organized
• Welcoming architecture
• Great layout, clean
• Well-kept, clean
• New
• Very well-organized
• Great neighborhood feel and location

Miscellaneous:

• BG should be a dynamic school with engaged children, faculty and parents.
• BG will grow bigger and better
• BG will get better in the next 5 years.
• BG should have student school pride, involvement and offer more after-school activities.
• Early dismissal should be voluntary as it presents a financial hardship to some parents.
• Please no half days on Fridays.
• BG should be an excellent highly rated school that is the envy of west Houston.
• BG should continue on the path to excellence that it has successfully traveled.
• BG should provide a quality education of which the neighborhood can be proud.
• Class sizes are too large, especially kindergarten and first grade.
• Class sizes are steadily increasing, making it difficult for teachers to give the students the attention they need and deserve.
• Children with behavioral issues need to be suspended and not just kept out of class for a short time.  They are becoming an increasing distraction to other students and need to be dealt with more effectively.
• BG has a great sense of community.
• BG is fun and welcoming.
• BG should continue to be a neighborhood school that relies on parent involvement and participation and offers a top-notch education with the help of a top-notch faculty.
• The best thing about BG is that my children want to go to school every day.
• The best thing about BG is the neighborhood feel, proximity and cost.
• BG should be an outstanding school with great teachers where everyone wants to send their children.
• BG shoulld be a vibrant school led by an articulate leader and a quality staff that wants to be there and is there to teach our children.