Administering parent and student surveys is a key step in the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) planning process. The information you collect from the surveys, along with the findings from your walking audit, will help your SR2S team determine which projects and programs to include on your school’s SR2S Action Plan. Please keep the following in mind when administering your surveys:

1.    Ensure that the participating school has registered its SR2S program with the Michigan Fitness Foundation and has a signed principal permission form on file. The list of registered schools is available at here. If you have questions regarding the status of your school, please contact Alex Nikoloff at (517) 908-3826.

2.    Three surveys are required as part of the evaluation process: Student Survey, Parent Survey, and Travel Behavior Tally. All three surveys should be administered during the same approximate time period. The preferred survey periods are fall (September, October, or November) or spring (March, April, May, June).

3.    Start the evaluation process by downloading and completing the survey request form. Complete one form per participating school. Fax the completed request form to Dr. Christine Vogt, Michigan State University, at (517) 353-8994 or send via e-mail to vogtc@msu.edu.

4.   Refer to the technology requirements to ensure the school’s computers are compatible with the SR2S survey software. This should be done before students are allowed to start the survey.

5.    The Student Survey must be administered online in the school’s computer lab with teacher supervision. A teacher needs to be present because they are consenting to this activity for their students. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved in advanced. Spanish language versions are still available in hard copy.

6.    The Student Survey is for grades 3-8 only. For example, at a K-5 school, only students in grades 3-5 should complete the survey. All students in the appropriate grades should complete the student survey, not just those students who live within walking or biking distance or students who already walk or bike to school.

7.    The Parent Survey may be administered online, on paper, or using a combination of both distribution methods. Spanish and Arabic versions of the parent survey are available on paper. Parents should only complete one survey per household. All households with students in the K-8 grade range should be given the chance to complete the parent survey.

8.    The Travel Behavior Tally must be completed in the classroom. This is a teacher-led survey that asks students how they traveled to and from school (on foot, by bus, in a car, etc.) over the course of one week. The teacher records the results on the tally sheet. The tally is for all grades in the K-8 range.

9.    Our research partners at Michigan State University will perform all data entry, analysis and reporting. MSU will also make copies of the Parent Survey and Travel Behavior Tally for free. Alternatively, schools can make their own copies of the Parent Survey and Travel Behavior Tally by requesting the surveys directly from MSU via the survey request form.

10.  Do not copy any of the surveys directly from the SR2S Handbook. Any surveys that are copied from the Handbook and turned in for processing will be returned to the school and will need to be redone.

11.  MSU will monitor online surveys. Schools should encourage that student and parent surveys are done over a block of 4 to 6 weeks. When MSU sees no more activity online, then they will merge any paper surveys into the web dataset and complete a report. All paper surveys (foreign language, parent, travel behavior tally) should be mailed at one time to MSU.