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HB NEWS STUDENTS’ WELL-BEING PROFILED IN HDSB CENSUS DATA KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com The "richness" of data collected in a student cen- sus conducted last year is something the Halton Dis- trict School Board has nev- er seen before, according to its associate director. “There is a huge amount of information there. It'sre- ally helping us to provide a little bit of insight into who our students are, and wi are their experiences ike at school," said David Boag at the May 18 meeting of the DSB. In March, trustees were given a demographic p file of students and staf of the oe ean forn release" of “a 's launched. This time around, HDSB research specialist Rossa- na Bisceglia presented a perceptual data overview, delving into students' sense of belonging and well-being at school. + In trying to determine students' assessments of their school climate, they were asked: if they are treated fairly and listened tp byt the adults at school; if about stu- ont: site school isa welcom- ing place to learn and if ex- tra help for learning is available. At both the ele- mentary and secondary school level, the vast ma- jority of students — 92 per cent of elementary and 87 r cent of secondary — pared that their school of- fered a welcoming environ- ment . ta terms of how happy and accepted students feel at school, 75 per cent of ele- mentary students said they felt this way often or all the time, compared to 61 per cent of secondary school students. + When students were David Boag asked how often they felt good about themselves, hopeful about the 5 they like the way they look, if they are lonely, nervous or worried, sad, or " experi- me levels with 60 per cent and future, if The Halton Distict School Board's student sensus was rich with data, says associate director id Boag. 62 per cent respectively, re- sponding often/all the time. + There was high en- dorsement from students at both levels in terms of but a gap between elemen- Graham Paine/ Metroland tary (94 per cent) and sec- ondary (79 per cent) stu- lents when it came to op- portunities to jean about the history and present re- atities of Indigenous peo- . “SNin ety per cent of ele- mentary students felt posi- tively represented at school in pictures, materials, ics and activities, while ' 22 per cent of secondary stu- dents saw _— re- flected po: SHIH UoweH - dl UL | €1 ally diverse 3 and IEP (Individual Educa- g tion Plan) students were ¢ less likely to feel a sense of z belonging c: school climate, while Lat- 8 inx students did not feel re- 8 presented in pictures, ma- terials, topics or events. "Next steps for the sys- tem are to digest all this in- formation and identify pri- ority areas to target, to re- view interventions, and to further target ongoing strategies," said Bis A total of 64,613 students the voluntary ce! highest participation rate Grade 9 to 12 and 59 per cent for kindergarten to Grade 3 students. * V Mark Hilliard Mackenzie Chapman Hilliard Barristers and Solicitors 33 Main Street South Acton, ON L7J 1X3. Tel: 519-853-1330 Fax: 519-853-4645 Email: Mark@mchlawyers.com Happy CANADA DAY 2022 VISITOR GUIDE CATCH. Scan to Download and read your FREE copy today! Inside are all the ingredients for planning a one-of-a-kind adventure. One LU RAL New Hamburg * INDEPENDENT ca 2022 VISITOR GULDE (ANH. 0-4. New " . a; INDEPENDENT. ca SPECIAL cli Issue - NTARI eordyouy