About ThoughtExchange: Engaging Families in Two-Way Conversation

    • ThoughtExchange

      In today’s world, school districts have many ways to communicate with families, but one of the most valuable communication tools is engaging with and receiving feedback from those our schools serve.

      GCPS has partnered with ThoughtExchange to gather feedback from students, families, staff, and community members.ThoughtExchange will allow participants to share their thoughts and ideas and/or indicate their level of satisfaction with specific educational programs and initiatives found in our schools and district. ThoughtExchange is a discussion management platform used and trusted by some of the world's most advanced organizations (including K-12 school districts, higher education, and corporations).

    With ThoughtExchange, participants share thoughts confidentially, ensuring that all voices are heard, and all divergent views can come to light around a shared topic of interest or concern. It is not a survey tool. Instead, ThoughtExchange encourages engagement as people respond anonymously with other participants.

    How does it work?

    1. GCPS poses a broad question and invites people to respond.

    2. Participants share thoughts anonymously with others participating in the exchange.

    3. Using a 1-5 scale, participants rate their agreement with different thoughts.

    4. GCPS analyzes data from the exchange and uses this input for decision-making.

     

    Data, insights, and feedback gathered through ThoughtExchange will help the district gain a better understanding of what students, families, staff, and community members think about key issues, initiatives, and topics. 

    For more on ThoughtExchange and how it works, watch this brief video.
Expand All

  • How can I participate in an exchange?

    The following exchange(s) are open:

    COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies in GCPS

  • Why are the questions so open-ended?

    Questions are broad so that you and the rest of the GCPS community can shape the conversation, and they are open-ended to avoid steering the conversation in a predetermined direction. If the questions are too detailed or specific, we could miss out on some really great ideas.

    We’re truly curious about what you think, and want to give you the opportunity to share a wide range of thoughts about a topic.

    So, go for it! Add your thoughts and see where the conversation goes!

  • Are my thoughts anonymous?

    Yes, your interaction in an exchange is completely anonymous, so please share openly. Other people will see your thoughts and ratings and you will see others’ thoughts and ratings. However, no thoughts or ratings have names attached, and exchange leaders and district staff are not able to see who has participated in an exchange as this is a third-party platform.

    The ThoughtExchange Terms of Use and Privacy Policy ensure identity data (your name and email address) is kept confidential, including not publicly linking your identity to the thoughts you shared or how you rated thoughts.

    Watch a quick video on YouTube to learn more.

  • What if any moderation settings are in place?

    Gwinnett County Public Schools takes pride in connecting our schools to the community, and ThoughtExchange is one way to accomplish this goal. As an integral component of our community, we are committed to constructive dialogue and collaboration with our stakeholders on issues that affect our schools and students. We welcome your comments, including constructive criticism. We also strive for as much transparency as possible; however, we recognize the need to ensure the conversation is safe and respectful. As such, GCPS makes use of ThoughtExchange's automated moderation that reviews items before public posting. If a thought you posted does not appear or states that it has been removed, it simply means it has been flagged for review as potentially violating our moderation criteria. If the review determines it is not in violation, it will be approved for posting.

     

    Moderation Criteria

    GCPS will remove comments that include the following:

    • Obscene, profane, rude, or vulgar language or images
    • Personal attacks that target specific individuals/groups, or posts containing personal information
    • Threats; defamatory statements; and/or violent, hateful, or racist language
    • Advocacy for any illegal activity
    • Identical thoughts from the same user (This is done as multiple posts of the same thought dilute the ratings for that thought. The original thought will remain in the exchange.)
    • Spam, advertisements, or solicitations of any kind
    • Infringement on copyrights or trademarks

    In this exchange, you are engaging in community dialogue. It is expected you will encounter thoughts that contain information that you feel is in error or opinions with which you don’t agree. The rating process allows you to show your level of support (1-5) for others’ thoughts.

    Thank you for sharing your voice. Your participation in the ThoughtExchange process is invaluable.