Summary: A healthy culture of learning is evident in environments where stakeholders are actively engaged, supportive, and inclusive. The surveys from current students, families, and teachers highlight several key areas that reflect a strong culture of learning at North Fork School (NFS).

See our complete 2024 Stakeholder Survey Analysis

• Welcoming Environment: 83% of students felt welcomed, and 50% felt respected by their teachers ​(2024 COGNIA Current MS/HS Student Survey)​.

• Safety and Care: 84% believed decisions were made to ensure their safety ​(2024 COGNIA Current MS/HS Student Survey)​.

• Resources and Engagement: 83% felt they had the resources needed for learning, and 67% noted that digital tools were effectively used to enhance learning ​(2024 COGNIA MS/HS Current Student Survey)​

Family Survey Insights:

• Welcoming and Respectful Environment: 100% of families felt treated with respect, and 86% felt welcomed ​(2024 COGNIA Family Survey)​.

• Safety and Support: 95% believed the school considered their children's safety, and 90% felt their children's well-being was a priority ​(2024 COGNIA Family Survey)​.

• Resources for Learning: 95% agreed that the school provided the necessary resources for learning ​(2024 COGNIA Family Survey)​.

Teacher Survey Insights:

• Welcoming and Respectful Environment: 86% of teachers felt welcomed and respected by their colleagues​ (2024 COGNIA Teacher Survey)​.

• Safety and Relationships: 100% set aside time to build relationships with students and kept learners' well-being as a priority​ (2024 COGNIA Teacher Survey)​.

Alumni comments from the 2024 survey:
“I like the personality of the school. The classes are small and there is a lot of direct and one-on-one contact with the teachers. The teachers really care about their students and continuously drive them to achieving their best work.”

“I loved how personable and invested the teachers/staff are towards students. I always felt looked out for and cared about in regards to my education and future. Marie specifically always motivated me and made me feel like I could do anything I put my mind to, which I think is extremely important for young, impressionable minds.”

• Standard 1: Leaders cultivate and sustain a culture that demonstrates respect, fairness, equity, and inclusion and is free from bias.
  
  Staff comments from the 2024 survey:
  "I love that we are able to strive for excellence while adapting to the needs of individual students. I really love what we are able to accomplish with small group learning - camaraderie, safety, open discussion, growth mindset, achieving personal best, continual and ongoing communication with parents, support for large-scale and detailed student projects, a team atmosphere, and a genuine love of learning."

   

  2024-2025 Parent | Student Handbook

  Website pages: Private Classes/Public Days,  Just the Facts, and Tuition
  

  August 2023 eBlast to interested families:
  Don’t miss out… it’s only a few years before they’re off to college!

   July 2022 eBlast to interested families: Creativity is not enough…Enroll now!
  
  

   Stakeholder Survey Results:
  2024 Standard 2: GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP = 4.55 (91%)
  2019 Standard 2: GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP = 4.5 (90%)
  2014 Standard 2: GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP = 4.33 (87%)

   

• Standard 2: Learners’ well-being is at the heart of the institution’s guiding principles such as mission, purpose, and beliefs.
  
  Alumni Parent comments from the 2024 survey:

  What do you like best about our school? >>> "small classes; individual attention, high standards that every child is taught to meet, and mentored each step of the way. Detailed comments on progress every quarter; webpage that tracks all assignments and each student's progress through required work"
  
  Any other comments or insights you would like to share? >>> "If you can swing it: Do it"
  "It would be amazing if the NFS quality of instruction could be the norm in our public schools."
  "Thank you eternally for the priceless gift you gave our children"
  "Our entire family is grateful for North Fork"
  
  2024-2025 Parent | Student Handbook
  
  

  Stakeholder Survey Results:
  2024 Standard 1: PURPOSE/DIRECTION = 4.57 (91%)
  2019 Standard 1: PURPOSE/DIRECTION = 4.62 (92%)
  2014 Standard 1: PURPOSE/DIRECTION = 4.46 (89%)
  
  class webpages:
  2024-2025 3rd Year Program
  2024-2025 English III
  
  
  

• Standard 3: Leaders actively engage stakeholders to support the institution's priorities and guiding principles that promote learners’ academic growth and well-being.

Current Parent comments from the 2024 survey:
"We would love to see an evening event once or twice a year where students can share their work with the larger school community and families can have the opportunity to connect with each other and the staff."

"We appreciate the dedication and passion the staff bring to the subjects they teach.  We also really enjoy the fall conferences. It is helpful to sit down with all the staff at the same time and notice patterns/tendencies across subjects. The staff all provide really thoughtful feedback at the conference and on report cards that help us understand how our child is doing both academically and socially."

Stakeholder Survey Results:
2024 Standard 1: PURPOSE/DIRECTION = 4.57 (91%)
2019 Standard 1: PURPOSE/DIRECTION = 4.62 (92%)
2014 Standard 1: PURPOSE/DIRECTION = 4.46 (89%) 

2024-2025 Parent | Student Handbook
2024-2025 Policies & Procedures

October 2019 eBlast to stakeholders prior to 2020 Accreditation Review: includes link to documents all Stakeholders could review and comment on before attending the meeting to vote on Improvement items and evaluate strengths/weaknesses of The North Fork School.

July 2024 Parent/teacher communication regarding creating a cellphone and Smart watch policy at North Fork

School Administrative Policies and Parent | Student Handbooks are available on the website for all Stakeholders to peruse at any time. We hold annual October and April evening meetings to review offerings and policy questions, but meetings seem optional (we can’t require parents to attend), and are often only sparsely or briefly attended, as students have evening sports, and parents are busy with work and family obligations, and already know what they want to do for the next school year.

When there is an impending accreditation review, and we ask stakeholders to attend in order to help decide important issues, we do have a strong turn out on the appointed evening, but during years in which we have tried to muster an actual Advisory Board that would meet 2-3 times per year, interest among parents is low. As the parent body evolves with student participation, that interest could change in the next few years.

Standard 4: Learners benefit from a formal structure that fosters positive relationships with peers and adults.

Alumni comments from the 2024 survey: "The teachers are incredible mentors and the class sizes are small. The result is a truly priceless relationship with both teachers and classmates."

"I like the closeness of the teachers and students. My teacher knows exactly what I need to succeed, how I learn, if I'm not living up to my full potential, and more."

Current Parent comments from the 2024 survey: "We appreciate the dedication and passion the staff bring to the subjects they teach.  We also really enjoy the fall conferences. It is helpful to sit down with all the staff at the same time and notice patterns/tendencies across subjects. The staff all provide really thoughtful feedback at the conference and on report cards that help us understand how our child is doing both academically and socially."

Current Staff comments from the 2024 survey: "I love that we are able to strive for excellence while adapting to the needs of individual students. I really love what we are able to accomplish with small group learning - camaraderie, safety, open discussion, growth mindset, achieving personal best, continual and ongoing communication with parents, support for large-scale and detailed student projects, a team atmosphere, and a genuine love of learning."

Parent/Teacher/Student conferences in October or November to assess student engagement and application of study skills at home and with extracurricular and other school/community activities and assignments.

Stakeholder Survey Results:
2024 Standard 2: GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP = 4.55 (91%)
2019 Standard 2: GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP = 4.5 (90%)
2014 Standard 2: GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP = 4.33 (87%)

Stakeholder Survey Result Analysis: The largest discrepancy between scores of current parents and those of alumni parents (0.69) is in Standard I -- Purpose & Direction. Alumni Parents also score all the other standards higher than do current parents, most of whom had younger children (2nd-8th) in the school last year.

This indicates a broader view and more understanding of the total NFS process in parents whose children have completed NFS programs and have gone on to succeed at college or in the workforce – alumni parents simply know more about long-term results.

Additionally, current parents of our youngest students (in Math Workshop, which in its first and only year [2023-2024] comprised grades 2-5), understood less than parents of Core Program and HS students did about the school’s academic purpose. As academic CORE programs are building again in 2024-2025, new current parents will be extremely involved in assessing the purpose of the education they are now choosing for their children.