What does Vernon think about a new school?

Sometimes its easy to forget that one’s own perceptions may be very different from others. This is why with any good business model, comes market research. What do others believe? Does the community want what you are creating? Are they ready to support your vision?

The Vernon OAK team wondered just that. Why expend all this effort if it turns out nobody is interested. So a survey was created and random people throughout Vernon were approached to participate in answering six questions with a very simple yes or no answer.

The results were clear: Vernon is ready for another option for education. When asked if people were satisfied with the current public school system, 70% of people said ‘no’. Do they believe children are lacking in any disciplines taught in elementary schools? A whopping 94% believed they are.

We asked if people would support a new independent school that strives to provide an even stronger academic foundation than is currently available and 93% of people indicated they would. Not surprisingly, 94% support enriching programs not offered at other local schools.

87% of people surveyed also indicated that complete transparency in the classroom is important to keep parents informed. We have yet to figure out why some people prefer obscurity but will leave that for another day.

Perhaps the most impactful result that came from the survey was the fact that 87% of people believe children are not fully prepared, capable and ready to function in society when they leave high school. This speaks volumes. Have we as a community let our children down? It pulls at our heart strings. Whatever the answer, we will make sure to be part of the solution.