District and school leaders are looking ahead to next steps as they consider findings from the annual Panorama survey that was conducted in November and December 2025. This annual online survey allows the district to measure how stakeholders feel about the district’s culture and climate. The survey gathers a variety of insights that will guide efforts to continually improve the district and its schools going forward.
“I encourage everyone to review the data through the Panorama online dashboard,” said Interim Superintendent Anthony Soto. “From that link, you can choose the Holyoke icon to view district results and the Schools icon to view individual school results. As you review the data, please keep in mind that a ‘favorable’ response captures the top two out of five categories. A response of ‘somewhat’—which is the middle category—does not count towards an overall ‘favorable’ response.”
District and school leaders are looking ahead to next steps as they consider findings from the annual Panorama survey that was conducted in November and December 2025. This annual online survey allows the district to measure how stakeholders feel about the district’s culture and climate. The survey gathers a variety of insights that will guide efforts to continually improve the district and its schools going forward.
“I encourage everyone to review the data through the Panorama online dashboard,” said Interim Superintendent Anthony Soto. “From that link, you can choose the Holyoke icon to view district results and the Schools icon to view individual school results. As you review the data, please keep in mind that a ‘favorable’ response captures the top two out of five categories. A response of ‘somewhat’—which is the middle category—does not count towards an overall ‘favorable’ response.”
From this year’s survey data, HPS saw the following bright spots:
More students in grades 6–12 responded favorably to the question “Do you feel safe in your classroom?” (11-point increase)
More teachers and staff responded favorably to “How positive is the working environment at your school?” (15-point increase for staff for a total of 73%, along with a 5-point increase for teachers for a total of 54%)
84% of teachers responded favorably to “How easy do you find interacting with students at your school who are from a different cultural background than your own?”
87% of families responded favorably to “How often do you have conversations with your child about what they are learning in school?”
80% of families responded favorably to “Do you feel welcome in your child’s school?”
HPS also saw areas where improvement is needed, including:
46% of students in grades 3–5 and 25% of students in grades 6–12 responded favorably to “How interested are you in your classes?”
31% of teachers responded favorably to “When the school makes important decisions, how much input do teachers have?”
28% of teachers responded favorably to “How much does professional learning provided by Central Office (e.g. full-day PD release days, support from school supervisors, etc.) help improve your practice?” This seems contradictory exit survey data where more than 90% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the professional learning is high quality
42% of staff responded favorably to “How often is your work evaluated?” (17-point decrease)
39% of families responded favorably to “How often does your child read for fun?”
Based on survey results, HPS will:
Continue to build supportive school communities and strengthen school cultures so that every child can learn and all staff can teach and work in a safe, supportive, and productive environment where students feel like they belong.
Refine the evaluation process for non-teaching staff so feedback feels timely, useful, and recognizes good practices.
Identify ways to increase family participation and lift family voice. Revisit the length of the survey to identify high impact questions and remove questions that are less aligned with our current goals while also considering adding some new questions.
Continue to share with families and teachers the importance of reading outside of school.