Often, school-specific information will be difficult or impossible to find, especially if it concerns social or cultural issues (e.g., bullying, homophobia, drug use, etc). In that case, perhaps try to conduct a school-wide “census” or survey. Some tips:
- Websites such as SurveyMonkey will let you conduct surveys online and will tabulate a certain amount of data for free (if you’re expecting more than 100 responses, consider paying for an upgrade). But be careful because online surveys make your data vulnerable to self-selection bias and to abuse by people purposefully trying to skew your data.
- Speak with your school administration to see if you can coordinate a survey to be handed out and administered during a homeroom or advisory period.
Public (including charter, magnet) schools:
- You can access public records by contacting and, usually, filing a request with the appropriate government office.
- Your local school board or committee may be able to furnish additional data or information.
Private schools:
- This is much trickier because independent schools are not required to divulge as much information as public schools, but limited information, such as the salaries of the five top-paid employees (over $100,000) and the amounts of the school’s biggest contracts are available through their Tax Form 990.
- Click here to search for Form 990s, which independent schools and non-profit organizations file yearly