Northwest ISD could hang up copies of its recent student and staff safety surveys on the refrigerator.

Mike Conklin, executive director of safety and security, gave a report on the district’s safety audit to the board of trustees Sept. 11.

The details

Conklin said that, according to Texas Education Code Sec. 37.108, school districts are required to perform a safety audit of the district’s facilities every three years. According to district documents, audit information is used to assess the safety and security of a district’s facilities and address concerns that may have been identified.

Diving in deeper


As part of the audit, school climate and culture when it comes to safety and security are assessed through student and staff surveys.

According to district documents, of the 1,280 staff members surveyed:
  • 92.5% said the school buildings are free of hazards that can cause accidental injury.
  • 90.2% said there is clear coordination between this school and other public agencies, such as the police, county juvenile probation and county mental health.
  • 92.7% said people care for each other’s safety at respective schools.
  • 90.1% said many students participate in school events and activities.
  • 92.7% said safety and security expectations are clear.
  • 92.7% said classrooms are well maintained and an inviting place to learn.
  • 90.1% said there is a great deal of cooperation among faculty members.
Of the 10,799 students surveyed, district documents showed that:
  • 95.9% said the classrooms look nice at their school.
  • 93.2% said adults care about students at their school.
  • 91.4% said that when students have an emergency, they can get help at their school.
  • 90.1% said many students participate in school events and activities.
  • 92.7% said safety and security expectations are clear to them.
  • 92.7% said classrooms are well maintained and an inviting place to learn.
  • 90.1% said there is a great deal of cooperation among faculty members.
Quote of note

“That’s an astronomical number,” Conklin said of the number of students who responded to the survey. “We’ve never seen numbers like that before. The fact that we were able to get that many students to work with us on the survey, that alone shows how important students take [their] safety.”