Seton Hall Students Help SOMA’s Schools via Market Research

Seton Hall students from our Market Research Center program participated in a semester-long consulting project with the South Orange/Maplewood School District (SOMSD). The key challenge was to uncover parent and caregiver perceptions of SOMSD and identify ways the district could improve to better serve families and students.

Eshaya Draper, communications director for SOMSD, said their goal was to “foster an environment where every student can thrive, every educator feels empowered and every community member feels connected to our shared mission.”

Two phases of research were conducted. The first was an initial qualitative phase; it centered around a web-based survey that collected responses from 454 parents and caregivers. Insights from the research provided the Board of Education some critical insights. Results showed parents believed the district could improve in such areas as transparency, budget allocation and communication.

Most respondents noted the district conveyed important information, but it was not easily communicated to parents. They reported that they were left to navigate school websites/resources on their own, actively seeking out updates themselves. The Board of Education was called on to provide a newsletter for parents to share events and ongoing projects in a timely and accessible manner.

Results also highlighted the need for transparency and accessible information concerning the district’s decisions. For example, 61 percent of parents of children within South Orange/Maplewood schools did not understand how the budget was allocated. Many found the SOMSD was not “adequately supporting students’ mental health and emotional wellbeing,” citing the lack of counselors and other staff dedicated to assisting students in these areas, particularly in reference to Columbia High School. Bullying prevention was brought up as a challenge to address, and Draper asserted the district would increase their efforts to combat the issue.

The main takeaways? Draper says their goals going forward will include increasing communication between the district and parents, fostering open dialogue, and making the changes necessary to improve our local schools for both students and their caregivers. Draper said the district was “incredibly proud of the students at Seton Hall University," as they provided crucial insights that will help “staff," “families” and the “community” as a whole.

The student team from Seton Hall included Abigail Tait, Nick Ferri, Cassie Patterson, Christian Formoso, Anthony Lemin and Anthony Semenecz. “I personally really enjoyed working with the SOMSD last semester,” Anthony Lemin said. “It was very interesting to interview parents and go through the whole market research [process] to crack down on the districts’ problems and come up with potential solutions.”

Adam Warner, director of the Market Research Center, said he was "proud of their efforts. It’s great to partner with our local school district in helping them understand parent perceptions and uncovering opportunities for improvement.”

If you would like information on how our student teams could help your business or organization with a project, please reach out to the Market Research Center.

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