The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), a group of parents, community members and school staff, recently gathered feedback through a Hockinson School District Community Perception Survey. A total of 212 respondents shared their perspectives on school performance, options for 5th grade in 2026-27, cell phone policies, and district calendar options.
This annual feedback provides a helpful snapshot of current perceptions and will help inform district goals, decisions, and 2026-27 School Improvement Plans.
Overall Positive Perceptions
Overall, respondents ranked their perception of Hockinson schools 3.98 out of 5 (on a scale of 1 (Poor) to 5 (Excellent).
Results also show generally positive perceptions across many areas:
Academic rigor:
Spring 2026: 3.87 out of 5
Last year: 3.79 out of 5
Family and community engagement:
Spring 2026: 4.09 out of 5
Last year: 3.97 out of 5
Communication transparency:
Spring 2026: 3.96 out of 5
Last year: 3.89 out of 5
Financial management:
Spring 2026: 3.73 out of 5
Last year: 3.79 out of 5
Future planning and the new HSD Strategic Plan:
Spring 2026: 3.91 out of 5 (new question this year)
These results suggest that families and community members generally have a positive perception of student learning environments, family engagement, communications and financial management in Hockinson School District.
Opportunities for Growth
While many areas received strong ratings, the survey also identified opportunities for improvement:
HSD’s commitment to improvement:
Spring 2026: 3.45 out of 5
Last year: 4.02 out of 5
School culture:
Spring 2026: 3.82 out of 5
Last year: 4.08 out of 5
While both scores are still positive on a 1-5 scale (a mid-range score would be 2.5), they show a decrease in average ratings for both the district’s commitment to improvement and school culture from Spring 2025.
Like many of the survey questions, both questions varied slightly year-over-year:
In 2025, the survey posed “The Hockinson School District is committed to improvement” on an “1- Disagree/5 - Agree” scale whereas this year’s prompt was a slightly-modified question “How effectively does the district use feedback to continuously improve existing programs?” on a “1 - Poor/5 - Excellent” scale.
Regarding school culture, the prompt on last year’s survey “School culture in the Hockinson School District is positive” was accompanied with a “1 - Strongly disagree/5 - Strongly agree” scale. This year, it appeared as a question: “How would you describe school culture in the Hockinson School District?” with a “1 - Negative” to “5 - Very Positive” scale.
School Facilities
While respondents recognized needs for school facility improvements, respondents gave a higher ranking of school district planning for facility needs given available resources. These results align with ongoing conversations about enrollment growth, Hockinson Heights Elementary building capacity and future facility planning.
How would you rate the reality of school facility conditions in Hockinson School District? 3.52 out of 5
How confident are you that the district plans appropriately for future facility needs, given available resources? 3.67 out of 5
Key Topics and Community Input
The survey also included questions on specific, timely topics:
Potential move of 5th grade to the middle school:
27.8% of respondents expressed support for moving 5th grade to the middle school.
20.3% of respondents have some concerns but feel they can be addressed through planning and adequate staffing.
23.1% of respondents feel that the move makes sense, but they have strong concerns.
20.8% of respondents don’t view this as a reasonable solution.
8% of respondents need more information to form an opinion.
The Citizens Advisory Committee will administer another survey this April with follow-up questions on this topic.
Cell phone policies:
48.1% of respondents favor a cell phone policy requiring students to store any cell phones in their backpacks or locker, with no use during class time.
34.9% favor a complete ban during school hours (students turn in phones and don't have access to them for the entire school day)
16% of respondents prefer to allow teachers to decide when to use cell phones and enforce a ban, which is the current practice in HSD.
0.9% of respondents prefer to let students have access to their phone throughout the school day without restrictions.
2026-27 school calendar:
A majority (56.1%) preferred a calendar similar to the current year with full-week breaks.
28.3% of respondents preferred to transition back to a traditional school calendar, similar to the calendar that Hockinson School District had in 2024-25.
15.6% did not have a preference.
Continuing the Conversation
Community feedback plays an important role in shaping district priorities. Results from this survey will help inform district goals, decisions, and the development of 2026-27 School Improvement Plans.
The CAC will share a follow-up survey in April, providing another opportunity for families and community members to share additional information on responses that the CAC would like to explore and clarify further.
The Hockinson School District and CAC appreciate the time and thoughtful feedback from all respondents.