Your kids report is among one of the finest I’ve shown in my four years with the company.”

Darin Sievers, Project Manager with School Perceptions

Project Manager Darin Sievers with School Perceptions returned to ISD 200 to discuss the results of the 2025 School Perception Survey at the Dec. 3 school board work session.
The survey queried staff, parents and students across several issues from how safe they felt in schools to working environments to amounts of homework given and received. This is the third year of similar surveys in the district, allowing both a comparison year-over-year, as well as to other similar district’s data.
Last month, when Sievers presented the initial results of this year’s survey, he called it a “mixed bag,” showcasing high marks from students, but frustration from staff, especially with district administration and the school board itself.
“Your kids report is among one of the finest I’ve shown in my four years with the company,” said Sievers.
Staff, however, had soured on the district almost unilaterally on issues ranging from the district’s pay practices, how likely they were to recommend the district, and the district’s direction overall.
Notable among those results was that staff responses to the statement “The school board is doing what it takes to make our district successful,” fell 28.1% which puts ISD 200 in the second percentile across 147 similar schools surveyed by School Perceptions.
Responses to that statement were the largest area of decline for both staff and parents in the survey and a point of focus in the follow-up meeting as Superintendent Kristine Wehrkamp Herman is set to present the survey findings to staff within the different buildings of the district in the coming weeks.
“What are your expectations of the board? What does it take to make them so that we’re not at the second percentile?” said Wehrkamp Herman about speaking with staff about the metric.
Because of the falling staff scores, the workshop focused on comments left by 76% of staff respondents that were aggregated and ranked by frequency on three topics: advice for the new superintendent, the district’s strengths and especially the district’s perceived weaknesses.
Top aggregated comments received 25-30 comments on that topic.

Superintendent advice
Staff comments for superintendent advice mirrored the ranked choices they provided in the overview.
In the ranked choice for statements of advice to the new superintendent, 66% of staff responded that the top advice was to “be accessible and approachable,” with the advice “Engage staff to build consensus and ensure they feel heard,” “Be willing to listen to various opinions, take a position, and own a final decision,” and “Be transparent about decision-making,” following close behind.
The top aggregated advice for the superintendent was to be visible and physically present in schools.
Staff “suggest visiting classrooms, interacting with staff and students, and actively participating in the school community to build relationships,” according to the AI summary of comments provided by School Perceptions.
The other top aggregated comments were to value staff input, trust and appreciate staff, and improve staff retention.

District strengths
Staff comments on the district’s strengths centered on staff dedication, the supportive staff culture, and support from both families and the community.
“Teachers and staff are described as caring, passionate, and hardworking professionals who are deeply committed to the success and well-being of their students,” according to the summary.
Last month, Sievers cautioned the board not to overlook staff perception on their own dedication because “That cannot be taken for granted.” To the statement “Our staff does a good job of educating our students,” ISD 200 ranks in the 86th percentile across similar surveyed districts, with staff agreeing overall.
Sievers also directly tied the strong student responses to the work of staff.
“The student report has me so optimistic about Hastings,” said Sievers, even if staff are increasingly frustrated with the district.
Wehrkamp Herman agreed: “If the students are responding like that, our staff are doing something right.”

District weaknesses
Staff listed compensation, staff morale, leadership issues and consistent communication as the top weaknesses of the district.
Sievers suggested that the timing of the survey, as well as specific ongoing issues within the district might be affecting how the staff perceive the district’s weaknesses.
For example, Staff cited the higher pay in nearby districts, like those in Washington County, as a key hurdle to staff retention because staff consistently leave for higher paying nearby roles.
Sievers suggested that while this gap in district pay is not new, it might have been heightened due to the ongoing teacher contract negotiations that were occurring while staff were able to participate in the survey.
When it came to staff morale, structural issues like several unfilled paraprofessional positions in the district, as well as the continued work in implementing new curriculums could be weighing down morale, said Sievers.
Board members took particular issue with the comments regarding the school board. According to the summary: some staff “perceive some board members as driven by political agendas rather than the needs of all students, creating a culture of distrust.”
Board members broadly rejected this claim.
“My agenda is to bring Hastings back to the top five schools in the state. We were there 20 years ago, we can get back there,” said School Board Chair Carrie Tate. “My goal is to be central. We have to serve all students, all families, and that should be our goal.”
“Just that accusation alone, I’m taking that as some of the things you’re saying are driven by the same or different agendas,” said Director Philip Biermaier.
Sievers suggested that the comments might have come from “if you’ve made any controversial decisions in the last three to five months, but if that took place, that could be what’s feeding that.”
Board members cited their frustration in the perceptions of decisions even beyond that timeframe, such as the curriculum modifications for Wit and Wisdom and sunsetting and replacement of Police 100.
“I feel like what we replaced our equity policy with is far stronger,” said Tate referencing the district’s new strategic plan which contains an “Equity and Belonging” core pillar which replaced Policy 100.
Director Mark Zuzek counseled caution in grappling with if perceptions are accurate: “We can’t challenge whether or not they’re accurate. I mean, they are accurate perceptions.”
In the end, Sievers was optimistic that the board was reviewing the data so closely year-after-year: “I love coming here because you want to get better.”
The 2025 School Perceptions results summary can be found on Boardbook for the Nov. 19 regular school board meeting at www.hastings.k12.mn.us/page/school-board