Register for the VA Surveys using this link: https://projecttomorrow.questionpro.com/VAregistration23
Once you have completed the form, the Speak Up team will email you the customized links for your division’s schools.

When is Virginia Speak Up open?
The Virginia Speak Up surveys are accessible beginning October 26, 2023. School divisions are asked to prioritize completing the surveys by January 31, 2024.  Participation during this timeframe will provide essential data to inform the drafting of the state educational technology plan. The national Speak Up survey window is through May 31, 2024.

What types of surveys do you offer? There are Speak Up surveys for students (grade level appropriate K-12), teachers, administrators, and families.

Who is eligible to participate in VA Speak Up? VA Speak Up is open to any school, school division, and organization that serves K-12 students in the state of Virginia.

Is there a cost to participate? No. Speak Up is a free service to all Virginia schools and school divisions thanks to our support from partners and sponsors. Learn more at: https://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speak-up-partners-sponsors/

How long does it take to complete the survey? The surveys should take about 20 minutes to complete. The surveys consist of a series of multiple-choice questions plus open-ended question(s) (depending on the survey).

What is your privacy policy? All responses are 100% confidential. We do not collect any identifying information from participants. Click here to view our privacy policy.

When will Speak Up data results be available? Registered contacts will be able to access their preliminary data online after Saturday syncs. National findings will be released in the fall of 2024 through a variety of venues, including an October 2024 Congressional Briefing, national and regional conferences, and through our website.

A participant at one of our schools did not finish the survey. Can we retrieve it? Unfortunately, once students exit the survey , they will not be able to log back in to their original survey session. If you would like to have a student complete the survey, you can (1) start a new survey and click on the “next” button until they reach the question that they left off on.

If the participant was facilitating a group K-2 survey or taking an educator or administrator survey, they can use the button “Save and Continue Later” and submit their email. The email is not recorded in the survey data. It is used to message a link for restarting the survey when the respondent is ready. If a survey is closed without opting in to “Save and Continue Later”, there is no means for resuming the incomplete survey.

If your question is not on this list, please contact the Speak Up team with your question(s) at Speakup@tomorrow.org.

Students K-2 PDF
Students 3-5 PDF
Students 6-12 PDF
Families PDF
Educators PDF
Administrators PDF

Primary contacts of registered VA school divisions will receive details on using Tableau to access their local data. The Speak Up team will be sending the registered contact more information once the surveys open on October 26th. You can contact support@tomorrow.org with questions.

Secondary lessons coming soon!

Use these sample emails to quickly get the word out about Virginia Speak Up to your school(s). We’ve provided a sample email for administrators below. In the next section are sample emails that building leaders can share with educators, students, and families. Feel free to change the text as needed.

EMAIL FOR SCHOOL DIVISION LEADERSHIP TEAM

Subject: [ENTER SCHOOL DIVISION NAME] is participating in Virginia Speak Up! Read for instructions.
Message: [ENTER SCHOOL DIVISION NAME] is participating in Virginia Speak Up! Time to prepare to get the best results from your school.

The Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning, a national initiative of Project Tomorrow, is both a national research project and a free service to United States’ schools and districts everywhere. Since fall 2003, Speak Up has helped education leaders include the voices of students, faculty, parents and the community in annual and long-term planning. The Virginia Department of Education has partnered with Project Tomorrow to offer semi-customized surveys, which will ask about technology usage in Virginia school divisions specifically, to inform the state technology plan.

Project Tomorrow provides everything you need to help make Virginia Speak Up a success: promotional materials, school-to-home messaging, social media promotions, lesson plans and more!

Speak Up surveys will be open from [enter start date] to [enter close date] for students, families, and faculty. We need your help to ensure your school and our school division get great data!

You can find all the promotional materials and additional information here: http://www.tomorrow.org/vaspeakup

Please let [ENTER SCHOOL DIVISION CONTACT NAME] know if you have any questions, or would like to designate a different school contact for this project. [ADD SCHOOL DIVISION CONTACT PERSON’S EMAIL AND PHONE]

Introduction Letter or Newsletter Article

To help your school/school division get familiar with Speak Up, share this with parents and faculty members. We’ve bracketed the areas where you’ll need to fill in your own information. Feel free to edit the text as needed.

Dear parent/educator,

We are excited to announce that [SCHOOL/SCHOOL DIVISION NAME] is participating in Virginia Speak Up! This survey will help us answer questions, such as:

• How are our students using technology for learning in and out of school?

• How important is the use of technology to our teachers and parents? What types of technology do our teachers find of value and how are they using it in the classroom?

• Do our ideas about technology align with our students’ parents?

Speak Up, a national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow, provides an easy way for students, parents, and educators to share their views on technology and learning with [SCHOOL/SCHOOL DIVISION NAME]. Your input informs our decisions about technology, as well as contributes to the national dialogue about educational technology. Since 2003, Project Tomorrow has collected and shared the viewpoints of more than 5.4 million students, educators, and parents. All responses are 100% confidential. No identifying information is collected about/from any participant.

As a nonprofit educational organization, Project Tomorrow provides Speak Up as a free tool for all schools to use – allowing us to conduct this research while also keeping our resources focused in the classrooms. [SCHOOL/SCHOOL DIVISION NAME] receives our results with state and national comparisons, providing us with valuable data that can be used for our strategic planning, professional development, and budgeting plans during the school year.

Taking the survey is easy! Plan to spend approximately 20 minutes.

[Link to the appropriate audience’s survey]

We look forward to [SCHOOL/SCHOOL DIVISION NAME]’s strong participation in Virginia Speak Up! Be sure to take the survey by [date]. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact [SPEAK UP CONTACT or appropriate contact for school level].

Sincerely,

[SPEAK UP CONTACT/APPROPRIATE CONTACT]

Email to Faculty

Subject: [ENTER SCHOOL NAME], Virginia Speak Up!
Message: We encourage all [ENTER SCHOOL NAME] teachers and faculty members to Speak Up about digital learning! Join the conversation about the use of technology for learning through Virginia Speak Up, a semi-customized version of the national research project. Not only will your views be taken into consideration by our school, they will also be included in the national and state discussions on digital learning policies, programs, and funding.

To “Speak Up” simply visit {ENTER YOUR DIRECT ACCESS LINK(S)] to take the survey. It takes just 20 minutes to add your voice!

Email to Parents

Subject:   [ENTER SCHOOL NAME] Parents: We want to hear your views on technology and learning!

Message: Be a part of the conversation happening across the state! Starting on (enter date), we will be participating in the Virginia Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning. The national Speak Up is the first survey designed to help families share their ideas directly with schools and national policymakers. Speak Up provides parents and guardians with a mechanism for expressing their views to the administrators at their child(ren)’s school and district about key issues impacting their child(ren)’s education.

Since 2003, Speak Up has collected and shared the views of more than 5.4 million students, teachers, and parents/guardians from across the country. By participating in the Virginia Speak Up, you are expressing your views to a wider audience of local, state, and national policy makers —and contributing to the national dialogue about how best to prepare students for the future.

The online survey is open to students, educators, and parents/guardians; it’s quick and easy to get involved. All participation is 100% confidential. Surveys take about 20 minutes to complete.

To take the survey, visit: [Insert Link to Survey].

To preview any of the surveys (students, teachers, administrator) visit https://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/vaspeakup/

We appreciate you taking the time to share your views with us! We need your input!

[INSERT LINK TO SURVEY]

Email to Students

Use the material below for an email or LMS announcement

Speak Up – Your ideas are important to us!

We value your thoughts and opinions! At [ENTER SCHOOL NAME], we’re excited to be part of the Virginia Speak Up research project. Our goal is to gain insights into how you use technology for learning, both inside and outside of school. We’re eager to understand your preferences on utilizing technology for education and how you envision technology being integrated into your classroom experience.

To take the survey, visit: [INSERT DIRECT ACCESS LINK for the grade level]

Your input is crucial in shaping the future of technology in education at our school. We appreciate your participation and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thank you for helping us make a difference!