The document summarizes a report on student promotion and retention at West Elgin Secondary School. It describes surveys conducted with current and prospective students and faculty to understand perceptions of the school's strengths and weaknesses, and why some students choose to attend other schools. The surveys aimed to identify how West Elgin could better attract and serve students to help the school succeed amid declining enrollment numbers.

1. West
Elgin
Secondary
School
Promotion
and
Student
Retention
Report
May
15,
2015
Brendan
Carey
Emma
Wilkins

2. Introduction
During
the
2014-­‐2015
school
year,
both
of
us
served
as
student
teachers
at
West
Elgin
Secondary
School
for
a
period
of
six
weeks
(Brendan
Carey
October-­‐
November
with
Rob
Tait
and
Emma
Wilkins
March-­‐April
with
Al
Roos).
While
we
were
working
at
WESS
we
both
became
familiar
with
some
of
the
difficulties
the
school
is
going
through.
As
recent
graduates
from
WESS
(2008
and
2009)
the
most
observable
difference
between
our
high
school
careers
and
the
present
is
student
enrolment
rates,
which
has
dwindled
from
a
little
over
500
during
the
mid-­‐2000s
to
below
400
in
the
2010s.
While
much
of
this
can
be
partially
attributed
to
declining
birth
rates
and
the
effects
of
the
2008
recession
on
a
largely
working
class
community,
it
has
also
come
to
our
attention
that
WESS
faces
much
more
competition
from
other
schools
contending
for
students
in
the
West
Elgin
area.
Ten
years
ago
the
only
choices
students
had
for
secondary
education
were
WESS
or
St.
Joseph’s
Catholic
High
School,
which
was
a
more
ideological
than
academic
decision.
However,
today
students
can
choose
to
attend
Arthur
Voaden
Secondary
School
or
Parkside
Collegiate
Institute
as
well.
It
is
evident
that
students
in
the
West
Elgin
area
have
more
choice
for
secondary
education
than
ever.
Objective
Without
question,
providing
students
with
more
options
for
their
education
than
the
previous
two-­‐size-­‐fits-­‐all
system
of
ten
years
ago
is
much
better,
however
it
would
be
naïve
to
deny
that
the
bigger
city
schools
have
benefitted
at
the
expense
of
rural
schools
such
as
WESS.
The
fewer
students
at
WESS,
the
less
teachers,
course
variety,
and
extracurricular
programs
there
are
to
benefit
the
students
who
chose
to
receive
their
education
in
their
community.
To
succeed,
we
believe
that
WESS
must
continue
to
adapt
and
tailor
itself,
as
much
as
it
can,
to
the
needs
and
desires
of
its
present
and
future
students.
What
do
the
students
want?
What
are
the
best
things
about
WESS
and
what
are
its
deficiencies?
How
can
WESS
serve
its
students
better
now
and
in
the
future?
Why
are
some
students
choosing
to
attend
schools
in
St.
Thomas
rather
than
walking
across
the
parking
lot
from
West
Elgin
Senior
Elementary
School?
For
our
T2P
alternative
practicum
we
decided
to
return
to
WESS,
a
school
that
we
care
about
and
want
to
see
succeed
for
many
more
years
to
come,
to
answer
these
questions.
Method
To
find
a
solution
to
these
questions
we
developed
three
surveys
for
WESS
stakeholders:
present
students,
future
students,
and
faculty.
For
two
days
we
surveyed
WESS
students
in
period
one
and
asked
them:
• What
do
you
like
best
about
WESS?
• What
do
you
like
least
about
WESS?
• Would
you
recommend
WESS
to
potential
future
students?
• What
new
clubs
or
teams
would
make
WESS
more
appealing?

3. • Why
do
students
in
West
Elgin
choose
to
go
to
school
elsewhere?
To
determine
how
WESS
can
better
attract
future
students,
we
also
surveyed
students
at
West
Elgin
Senior
Elementary
School.
We
solicited
answers
to
the
following
questions:
• What
is
your
perception
of
WESS?
o If
you
think
positively,
why?
o If
you
think
negatively,
why?
• If
you
have
siblings
who
attend/have
attended
WESS,
why
did
they
choose
to
do
so?
• Do
you
plan
to
attend
WESS?
o If
so,
why?
o If
not,
why?
• What
would
make
WESS
more
appealing
to
you?
Finally,
we
solicited
the
opinions
of
WESS
faculty
to
see
what
they
think
the
school
needs
to
do
to
improve.
This
served
a
dual
function
because
it
allowed
us
to
gather
information
on
the
teachers’
opinions
and
enabled
us
to
determine
if
the
students
and
staff
agree
on
what
WESS’s
strengths
and
weaknesses
are,
and
how
it
can
improve.
The
questions
we
posed
to
the
faculty
were:
• What
are
the
school’s
best
selling
points
in
attracting
future
students?
• What
are
some
of
the
school’s
deficiencies
and
how
can
they
be
improved
upon
in
order
to
attract
more
students?
• How
can
West
Elgin
promote
a
better
image
of
itself
within
the
community?
• What
are
some
creative
ways
to
fundraise
to
support
new
school
programs
and/or
initiatives?
• Do
you
have
any
other
thoughts
or
suggestions?

4. Findings
WESS
Student
Surveys
For
the
first
question,
we
sought
to
find
out
what
the
students
liked
most
about
WESS.
We
believe
that
their
answers
should
be
used
as
the
main
selling
points
of
the
school
and
should
be
highlighted
when
interacting
with
potential
students.
The
far
away
favourite
of
most
students
was
the
small
town/small
school
environment
that
WESS
has.
Everybody
knows
everyone
and
it
allows
the
school
to
build
a
tight-­‐knit
community.
Additionally,
many
students
believe
that
the
teachers
genuinely
care
about
them
and,
because
of
the
size
of
the
school,
they
are
able
to
build
important
relationships
with
the
faculty.
We
were
surprised
to
see
sports
and
extracurricular
activities
third
because
we
know
that
some
have
been
reduced
due
to
student
interest
and
low
staff
numbers.
The
“other”
category
only
received
5%
of
the
total
answers,
which
included
answers
such
as
the
drama
club,
science
class,
mural
painting,
no
uniforms,
and
student
leadership.
Tech
Classes
5%
Free
Time/
Long
Breaks
7%
Close
to
Home
/Sleep
in
7%
Teacher
1-­‐
on-­‐1
Time
11%
WESS
Sports/
Extracurricular
activities
15%
Teacher
Quality
15%
Small
School/
Small
Town
Environment
35%
Other
5%
What
Do
You
Like
Most
About
WESS?

5.
The
most
popular
criticism
that
the
students
had
about
WESS
was
the
lack
of
course
options.
The
silver
lining
for
this
issue
is
that
if
the
information
in
this
report
is
able
to
increase
student
population,
more
class
variety
will
be
possible.
What
was
deeply
concerning
for
us
was
our
discovery
that
bullying
and
student
negativity
toward
others
was
the
second
most
popular
complaint
about
WESS.
To
further
this
point,
some
of
the
students
we
surveyed
from
WESES
said
that
they
would
never
attend
WESS
because
they
had
older
siblings
who
were
“bullied
out
of
the
school.”
This
came
as
a
surprise
to
both
of
us
because
during
our
time
as
students
and
student
teachers
we
did
not
notice
any
cases
of
bullying,
but
the
fact
remains
that
this
is
a
significant
issue
decreasing
student
happiness
and
satisfaction.
Another
concerning
answer
was
that
someone
or
several
people
have
been
peeing
in
the
drinking
water
fountains.
Although
only
3%
of
students
listed
this
answer,
it
happened
often
enough
to
be
tied
with
students’
dislike
for
prevalent
drug
use
and
the
school’s
small
size.
Although
we
are
not
aware
if
these
rumours
are
true,
it
is
a
rumour
nonetheless
and
can
play
a
role
in
diminishing
WESS’
reputation
with
potential
students
and
parents
in
the
community.
Some
“other”
answers
included
insufficient
library
hours,
lack
of
authority,
and
lack
of
heating
and
cooling.
Smokers/Prevalence
of
Drugs
3%
People
Pee
in
the
Water
Fountains
3%
Small
School
3%
Few/No
Field
Trips
5%
Cafeteria/
Quality
of
Food
6%
Teachers
Not
Engaged
with
Students
6%
Lack
of
School
Spirit
8%
No
Football
Team/Few
Extracurriculars
11%
Student
Negativity/
Bullying
14%
Few
Class
Options
34%
Other
7%
What
Do
You
Like
Least
About
WESS?

6.
Overall,
82%
of
students
enjoy
WESS
enough
to
recommend
it
to
other
students.
However,
7%
are
unhappy
with
their
time
at
WESS
enough
to
state
that
they
would
actively
tell
other
students
not
to
come
to
this
school.
The
two
most
popular
extracurricular
activities
that
WESS
does
not
offer
are
football
(25%)
and
baseball
(15%).
However,
other
than
those
two
sports
there
is
Yes
82%
No
7%
Unsure
11%
Would
You
Recommend
WESS
to
Potential
Future
Students?
Hunting
Club
5%
Robotics/
Coding
Club
5%
Baseball
15%
Football
25%
Other
50%
What
New
Clubs
or
Teams
Would
Make
Wess
More
Appealing?

7. very
little
consensus.
Some
other
popular
suggestions
were
horse
riding
club,
video
game
club,
wrestling
team,
board
game
club,
fencing,
swimming
team,
cheerleading,
paintball
club,
chess
club,
car
club,
outdoor
club,
model
UN
club,
and
agriculture
club.
When
asked
why
they
think
other
students
in
West
Elgin
choose
to
go
to
schools
elsewhere,
the
majority
of
students
listed
poor
course
selection
as
the
most
important
reason.
Nine
percent
of
answers
described
that
many
students
believe
the
Parents
Dislike
WESS
2%
No
Extras
(musical
theatre,
vocal,
etc)
4%
Negative
Public
Opinion
of
WESS
5%
Dislike
the
Student
Culture
of
WESS
6%
Bullying
7%
Want
to
Meet
New
People/New
Experiences
6%
Perception
of
Better
Education
Elsewhere
9%
Better/More
Sports
Teams
Elsewhere
10%
Poor
Course
Selection
51%
Why
Students
in
West
Elgin
Choose
to
Go
to
School
Elsewhere?

8. education
at
other
schools
is
better
than
at
WESS.
Surprisingly,
many
students
have
been
led
to
believe
that
attending
WESS
will
drastically
hurt
their
chances
of
getting
into
post-­‐secondary
schools.
This
is
something
we
believe
should
be
clarified/dispelled
when
WESS
representatives
speak
with
students
at
WESES.
We
discovered
that:
• More
than
75%
of
WESS
students
met
or
exceeded
government
standards
in
math
EQAO
• 60%
of
WESS
graduates
attend
post-­‐secondary
school
(28%
university,
32%
college),
which
is
6%
more
than
the
provincial
average1
Furthermore,
6%
of
students
dislike
the
student
culture
at
WESS.
This
includes
student
frustration
that
nobody
wants
to
take
a
leadership
role
in
clubs,
students
disrespect
the
school
and
teachers,
and
many
are
not
proud
of
their
school.
1
These
are
2009
stats
and
were
taken
from
the
WESS
year
review
white
binders
(no
title)

9. WESES
Student
Surveys
Positive
89%
Negative
11%
What
is
Your
Perception
of
WESS?
Small
school
environment
5%
Friends
Go
There
5%
Great
Teachers
10%
Family
attended
WESS
11%
Extracurricular
Activities
12%
Heard
Good
Things
51%
Other
6%
Why
do
you
Think
Positively
of
WESS?

10. Eighty-­‐nine
percent
of
students
we
surveyed
from
WESES
stated
that
they
think
favourably
of
WESS.
We
asked
those
students
to
explain
their
reasoning
and
the
majority
gave
vague
answers
that
can
be
consolidated
as
“they
have
heard
good
things
about
the
school.”
Second,
many
students
know
about
WESS’s
extracurricular
activities
and
sports
and
expressed
that
they
would
like
to
partake
in
some
of
those
activities
when
they
attend
this
school.
Family
members
who
have
attended
WESS
and
told
them
great
things
is
third
at
eleven
percent,
which
is
followed
by
their
impressions
of
the
school’s
faculty
at
ten
percent.
Generally,
the
responses
to
this
question
were
not
overly
surprising.
The
students
who
responded
that
they
had
negative
opinions
regarding
WESS
were
asked
to
explain
their
reasoning
as
well.
This
question
provided
some
interesting
answers
because
it
does
not
directly
correspond
to
the
answers
provided
by
WESS
students
as
to
why
some
students
in
West
Elgin
attend
other
Hear
Bad
Things
38%
Poor
Course
Selection
6%
Too
Much
Bullying
25%
Smoking
and
Druge
Use
31%
Why
do
you
Think
Negatively
of
WESS?

11. schools.
WESES
students
listed
poor
course
selection
only
six
percent
of
the
time,
compared
to
fifty-­‐one
percent
of
WESS
student
answers.
This
suggests
that
perhaps
WESS’s
inability
to
offer
many
courses
is
not
as
big
of
a
concern
as
we
might
have
thought
and
new
students
are
much
more
concerned
with
a
school’s
culture.
This
hypothesis
is
supported
by
the
students’
answers
as
“smoking
and
drug
use,”
and
“too
much
bullying”
account
for
a
combined
fifty-­‐six
percent
of
answers.
Many
students
described
that
they
did
not
like
how
their
most
frequent
experience
with
WESS
is
seeing
students
outside
the
school
smoking.
Numerous
others
described
bad
experiences
with
WESS
students
who
bullied
them,
their
friends,
and/or
their
siblings
in
various
ways.
While
this
is
very
concerning,
it
is
important
to
note
that
only
eleven
percent
of
students
we
surveyed
listed
that
they
have
a
negative
perception
of
WESS,
so
these
answers
do
not
speak
for
all
students
at
WESES.
The
students
who
have
siblings
who
attend
or
have
attended
WESS
were
asked
to
state
why
their
sibling
chose
our
high
school
over
one
out
of
the
area.
Their
answers
to
this
question
suggest
that
the
vast
majority
of
students
chose
WESS
Close
to
home
73%
Friends
go
to
WESS
18%
Outstanding
Teachers
6%
Family
went
to
WESS
3%
Why
did
your
Siblings
Choose
to
Attend
WESS?

12. simply
because
it
is
close
to
home,
which
allows
them
to
sleep
in
a
bit
later.
Friends
attending
WESS
is
the
second
largest
motivating
factor
at
a
distant
eighteen
percent.
To
get
a
sense
of
future
numbers
of
students
who
plan
to
attend
WESS
from
WESES
over
the
next
two
years,
we
asked
the
students
where
they
plan
to
attend
secondary
school.
The
results
suggest
that
WESS
can
expect
to
receive
roughly
one
hundred
students
over
the
next
two
years
and
lose
about
thirty
students
to
out
of
market
schools.
While
these
numbers
can
be
helpful,
it
is
important
to
keep
in
mind
that
half
of
the
students
we
surveyed
were
in
grade
seven,
so
this
could
change
positively
or
negatively
in
over
the
course
of
the
2015-­‐2016
school
year.
Maybe
5%
No
18%
Yes
77%
Do
you
Plan
to
Attend
WESS?

13.
The
students
who
stated
that
they
plan
to
attend
WESS
were
asked
to
explain
their
reasoning.
The
findings
for
this
question
were
similar
to
those
found
from
the
“why
did
your
sibling
attend
WESS?”
question,
with
a
few
slight
differences.
WESS’s
proximity
to
the
students’
homes
is
still
the
leading
motivating
factor,
however
it
received
nearly
thirty
percent
fewer
responses
than
the
sibling
question.
This
difference
was
countered
by
a
drastic
increase
in
family
pull
factors,
an
increase
from
three
percent
in
the
sibling
question
to
twenty-­‐two
percent
in
the
latter.
Consequently,
it
stands
to
reason
that
if
the
oldest
child
attends
WESS,
there
is
a
significant
chance
that
their
younger
siblings
will
make
the
same
decision.
Outstanding
Teachers
3%
Friends
are
Going
11%
Heard
Good
Things
18%
Family
Attended
WESS
22%
Close
to
Home
46%
Why
do
you
Plan
to
Attend
WESS?

14.
The
students
who
indicated
that
they
do
not
plan
to
attend
WESS
were
subsequently
asked
to
explain
why.
What
was
interesting
from
their
answers
was
that
many
parents
actively
pressure
their
children
to
not
attend
WESS.
The
parents
reasons
are
usually
the
same
as
the
other
answers
on
this
graph,
such
as
better
sports
at
other
schools
and
a
belief
that
students
will
receive
a
better
education
and/or
have
a
better
chance
of
getting
into
a
post-­‐secondary
institution
if
they
go
to
out
of
area
schools.
Want
to
Meet
New
People
4%
Better
Education
Elsewhere
9%
Hear
Terrible
Things
About
WESS
13%
More
Extracurriculars
Elsewhere
17%
Parents
Want
Student
to
go
Elsewhere
26%
Better
Course
Selection
Elsewhere
31%
Why
do
you
Not
Plan
to
Attend
WESS?

15.
Finally,
we
surveyed
all
students
for
their
ideas
on
how
WESS
can
become
a
more
appealing
option
for
secondary
education.
Broadly,
there
was
a
tie
for
the
two
most
frequent
requests:
more
sports
teams/extracurricular
activities
and
greater
course
selection.
Overall,
sports/extracurricular
activities
account
for
forty-­‐eight
percent
of
suggestions,
but
we
decided
to
make
the
football
team
and
cheerleading
their
own
categories
because
they
were
repeatedly
requested.
When
analyzing
the
requests
for
more
courses,
we
split
the
two
main
course
demands
(food
and
nutrition
course
and
cosmetology)
into
their
own
categories
because
they
were
very
frequently
suggested.
When
combined,
more
course
selection,
especially
grade
nine
level
courses,
made
up
forty-­‐seven
percent
of
the
requests.
Remove
Ugly
Hallway
Paintings
2%
Better
Food/Drink
3%
Cheerleading
7%
Cosmetology
Course
10%
Football
Team
12%
Offer
More
Courses
17%
Food/Nutrition
Course
20%
More
Sports
Teams/
Extracurriculars
29%
What
Would
Make
WESS
More
Appealing?

16. WESS
Faculty
Surveys
The
faculty
surveys
were
read
and
analyzed
individually,
with
general
conclusions
made
for
each
question.
It
was
great
to
see
the
variety
of
thoughts
presented
by
the
staff,
each
staff
member
bringing
new
ideas
to
each
question.
The
conclusions
were
as
follows:
1.
What
are
the
school’s
best
selling
points
in
attracting
future
students?
Small
town:
• Everyone
knows
everyone,
you
are
a
somebody
here,
and
there
is
a
loud
student
voice
within
the
school
• The
majority
of
the
teachers
are
from
this
community
and
genuinely
care
about
the
students
• Teachers
provide
a
safe
learning
environment
School
Opportunities:
• WESS
offers
a
lot
of
the
same
clubs
and
sport
teams
offered
in
a
larger
school
• WESS
has
two
Specialized
High
Skills
Majors
programs
• Students
as
a
whole
are
prepared
for
their
post
secondary
education
2.
What
are
some
of
the
school’s
deficiencies,
and
how
can
they
be
improved
in
order
to
attract
more
students?
School
Improvement:
• Increase
staff
to
offer
more
extracurricular
activities
to
students
• Provide
better
course
selection
for
students
• Improve
disciplinary
action
for
student
misbehaviour
(develop
accountability
in
students)
• Better
community
relationships
Student
Improvement:
• Increase
school
spirit,
and
develop
student
morale
• Improve
communication
via
social
media
and
our
school
website
• Offer
more
lunch
time
activities
3.
How
can
West
Elgin
promote
a
better
image
of
itself
within
the
community?
• Update
school
motto
• Outreach
programs
such
as
canned
food
drive
and
community
clean
up
days
• Utilize
front
sign
at
the
school
and
the
school
website
• Open
doors
to
the
community
by
running
local
events
at
the
school
• Increase
involvement
with
Aldborough
and
Dutton
Elementary
schools
4.
What
are
some
creative
ways
to
fundraise
to
support
new
school
programs
and/or
initiatives?
• Overall
consensus
was
that
fundraising
provided
little
benefit
to
the
school
itself.
All
monies
raised
must
first
go
to
the
board.
In
addition
to
this
community
fundraising
portrays
a
school
that
is
need
of
money
furthering
our
image
as
a
‘welfare
school’.
However
community
fundraising
run

17. through
the
school
was
suggested.
Some
of
these
ideas
were
Relay
for
Life
and
canned
food
drives,
where
we
can
give
back
to
the
community
5.
Any
further
thoughts
or
suggestions.
• Bring
in
alumni
guest
speakers
• Re-­‐implement
the
reading
programs
for
Aldborough
and
Dutton
Elementary
• Introduce
a
life
skills
course
Conclusion
We
discovered
that
the
general
consensus
is
that
WESS
is
a
great
school
because
it
is
small,
which
provides
a
community
where
everyone
knows
everyone.
Both
the
students
and
the
staff
addressed
this
as
the
school’s
main
selling
point.
While
many
teachers
believe
that
the
high
skills
major
courses
highly
incentivise
future
students
to
attend
WESS,
we
discovered
that
not
a
single
student
at
WESES
or
WESS
listed
it
as
something
they
like
about
WESS
or
would
make
them
want
to
come
here.
Perhaps
the
WESES
students
do
not
know
about
them
or
they
do
not
consider
it
because
they
cannot
take
the
courses
until
they
are
in
grade
eleven.
However,
we
are
unsure
as
to
why
there
is
a
disconnect
between
the
faculty’s
perception
of
the
high
skills
major
and
the
students
who
are
presently
at
WESS.
When
asked
about
the
school’s
deficiencies,
the
staff
and
students
believe
that
the
school
needs
to
offer
more
variety
of
courses
to
attract
new
students,
but
both
acknowledge
that
it
is
a
“catch-­‐22”
situation.
We
need
more
students
to
get
more
courses,
but
we
need
more
courses
to
get
more
students.
However,
the
staff
and
students
disagreed
on
bullying
being
a
major
deficiency.
Numerous
students
listed
bullying
as
a
reason
why
they
do
not
like
WESS
and
some
WESES
students
described
scenarios
where
their
older
siblings
warned
them
against
coming
to
WESS
because
of
the
prevalent
bullying.
We
acknowledge
that
we
were
only
in
the
school
for
six
weeks
during
our
practicum
placements
at
WESS,
but
we
did
not
notice
any
bullying,
nor
did
the
staff
suggest
that
it
was
a
big
problem.
Evidently,
there
is
a
disconnect
between
the
staff
and
students
on
this
central
issue.
The
teachers
and
students
are
generally
on
the
same
page
for
how
to
improve
WESS
in
the
future.
Both
believe
that
there
needs
to
be
more
extracurricular
activities,
but
few
suggestions
were
provided
on
how
to
accomplish
this.
We
also
discovered
that
many
believe
WESS
is
lacking
school
pride.
Some
students
even
recommended
holding
pep
rallies
before
significant
sporting
events.
Perhaps
if
more
people
were
exuberantly
happy
to
be
a
wildcat,
they
would
be
much
more
likely
to
join
or
run
clubs,
go
to
sports
games
to
cheer
on
our
teams,
and
respect
the
school
and
others
around
them.