Student Survey results

Some questions were raised and a deeper “dive” is needed after looking at the Ministry of Education’s Student Learning Survey results for SD83, Superintendent Donna Kriger reported to the Board of Education of School District No. 83 (North Okanagan-Shuswap) at its meeting on Tuesday at the District Education Support Centre (DESC).

“The District Learning Team spent an entire meeting combing through this and talking about it. We are very well aware that school connectedness and engagement have a high predictability of graduation. Overwhelmingly the data is speaking of belonging as something we need to further explore.” She said particularly worrisome is that only 36 per cent of the grade 10 Indigenous learners and 40 per cent of the grade 7 diverse learners feel like they belong.

An area which they will further explore, through one-on-one interviews with students, is what a “sense of belonging” means to them,  When students consider belonging, is it through the lens of identity, is it relationships with peers, relationships with adults or seeing themselves reflected within the school they attend.

She said the high rate of connectedness (having two or more caring adults at school) with the grade 10 Indigenous students (70 per cent) speaks to the phenomenal job of the Success Rooms at the secondary level. “My inference from from the data would suggest that a considerable amount of credit goes to the success teachers who are forming those connections. I wonder if this is a model that could be expanded for “all” students in our high schools.”

She said the data trends show:

• “Feeling Welcome” at school decreases from grade 4 to grade 10 (74 per cent, 65 per cent, 63 per cent)
• With the exception of grade 10, diverse learners report lowest levels of “Feeling Welcome.”
• Students in all grades report a low “Sense of Belonging” with grades 4 & 10 Indigenous learners reporting the lowest levels (41 per cent, 36 per cent) and grade 7 Diverse Learners (40 per cent).
• Grade 10 Diverse Learners & Indigenous Learners report the highest rate of having two or more caring adults at school (72 per cent & 70 per cent)

SD83 response to the data:

• The District Learning Team (DLT) has reviewed the data in the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning (FESL) report looking for trends in belonging, having two or more caring adults, feeling welcome and feeling safe.
• Members of DLT will conduct individual interviews with a cross-section of students in grade 7 & 11 to determine what engages them in school, what contributes to feeling welcome, safe, and gives them a sense of belonging.
• School connectedness and engagement are significant contributors to student success, school culture and ultimately graduation.
• This data collection will also be considered in strategic planning.