A recent school climate survey in Jim Thorpe Area School District yielded both positives and several areas of needed improvement, district officials said during a committee meeting Wednesday night.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Presley said students, parents and staff members weighed in on the current state of the district and results were reviewed in consultation with the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit No. 21.

“We found certain areas where parents, staff and students think we’re doing well and areas we need to work on,” Presley said. “So now, our challenge is working on those areas we can improve.”

Parents, Presley said, reported feeling their students were safe and welcomed at school and that staff members respected cultural diversity among the student body. Staff members also said the school district provides a safe atmosphere for learning and teaching. Teachers also felt the district provides a positive experience for students and prepares them for success in the next grade, attending a college or starting a job.

“We’re encouraged that people feel safe in the hallways and outside the buildings,” Presley said. “We keep our doors locked and use key cards to get in. We practice drills and do everything we are supposed to do to make this a safe environment and it showed up in the survey.”

Staff also indicated a presence of bullying due to student characteristics and students could work on treating others with more respect.

“One of the things we took away from this that we could work on is helping to develop conflict resolution skills for students,” Presley said. “Part of that is working on social skills that may have suffered during COVID-19 when they weren’t around each other.”

Teachers, Presley said, also showed a desire to have more of a voice in decision making.

“We need that collaboration with our staff and that’s something we’ll work on coming out of this survey,” Presley said.