This fall, we surveyed students in grades 3-12 to better understand their views of the climate and culture in our schools. To facilitate this survey, we partnered with Panorama, a survey platform that identifies areas of strength and growth related to climate and culture for each school and the district as a whole. The data collected in these surveys helps inform some of our district-wide goals for improvement and parts of our schools’ annual improvement plans. 

District-wide student “sense of belonging” growth goals

As we shared earlier this fall, our goals for the 2023-24 school year related to increasing students’ sense of belonging at school, as measured by the Panorama survey, are as follows:

• 40% of students in grades 6-12 will report a positive sense of belonging as measured by the Panorama survey by the end of the 2023-24 school year, up from 36% in the spring of 2023.
   

• 68% of students in grades 3-5 will report a positive sense of belonging as measured by the Panorama survey by the end of the 2023-24 school year, up from 65% in the spring of 2023.

Visit our website to view all of our district-wide goals for improvement for the 2023-24 school year, found here. 

Each of our schools also have set school-specific goals related to increasing students’ sense of belonging, which you can find here:
Chain Lake Elementary | Frank Wagner Elementary | Fryelands Elementary | Hidden River Middle School | Leaders High School | Maltby Elementary | Monroe High School | Park Place Middle School | Salem Woods Elementary

Fall 2023 student survey results

78% of students in grades 3-12 completed the survey during school this fall (up from 54.8% in the spring of 2023). *This percentage does not include Sky Valley Education Center as they will be administering the student survey at a later date.

We are pleased to share that the survey results related to students’ sense of belonging show an overall improvement as compared to the fall of 2022:

• 44% of students in grades 6-12 reported a positive sense of belonging (a 4% increase from the fall of 2022). These results are closely aligned with the national average for grades 6-12 - see comparison data here.

• 69% of students in grades 3-5 reported a positive sense of belonging (a 1% increase from the fall of 2022). These results are above the national average for grades 3-5 - see comparison data here.

Sense of belonging is “the extent to which students feel that they are valued members of their school’s community.” Belonging includes feelings related to acceptance, respect, value, and connectedness, which we know impacts engagement, behavior, and academic performance. 

You can view all district-wide and school-specific survey results HERE.

To help us measure progress over time, we will continue to administer these perceptual surveys twice each school year. Students in grades 3-12 will be asked to take the survey each fall and spring and school staff and families will be asked to take the survey each spring.