Board reviews student-climate survey, highlights Memorial High pilot after LGBTQ students report lower school connectedness

The Eau Claire Area School Board heard a district presentation on supportive learning environments and student climate data, including the results of a districtwide student climate survey taken March 1 and school-level interventions piloted at Memorial High School.

The district presented a three-part supportive learning environment framework — engagement, safety and environment — and tied that work to strategic goals for student social, emotional and academic progress. Christy Watkinson, the district’s director of student services, told the board that “when students feel comfortable, respected, and valued, they will make more gains academically, socially, and emotionally.”

The presentation’s nut graf: the board was shown district- and school-level climate survey results and the concrete steps Memorial High School has taken as a pilot to improve peer relationships and inclusion, after the survey found notable gaps for LGBTQ students and declining peer-to-peer responses over a multi-year trend.

Dane Yang, director of equity, diversity and inclusion, summarized the survey findings and the district’s responses. Yang said trusted-adult relationships remained a relative strength, but peer-to-peer relationships had declined and “the gap between LGBTQ students and the responses from all respondents showed the widest range of disproportionality.” He added, “Number 1, the non binary students continue to show disproportionately negative or less positive perception of school climate.”

At Memorial, Principal Dave Oldenburg described a package of school-level actions taken after the fall administrative review of the climate data. Oldenburg said Memorial is in its third year using the Character Strong universal SEL curriculum and that the school collected “over 1,000 unique student survey responses” to that curriculum this year; he reported that 88% of respondents said the lessons were helpful and 89% said the learning was enjoyable. The school has also used senior student leaders, the GSA and student council to increase visibility and student ownership, Oldenburg said.

Amber Dernbach, AVID coordinator and a theater instructor at Memorial, described AVID and arts programs that are intended to expand students’ leadership opportunities and participation. She said AVID students served as a panel for feeder middle-school students and that the school has expanded universal, daytime events such as a homecoming carnival and a winter carnival to increase participation by students who otherwise miss evening events.

Yang and school staff described steps taken this year after leaders reviewed the survey results in October: sharing results with student clubs and councils, running dedicated meetings with the GSA and student council to identify actionable priorities, and encouraging schools to take a “whole-school” approach rather than targeting only affected students. Yang said those meetings were intended to “help students take ownership of the data” and create school-driven action plans.

Board members asked how the pilot could be scaled and how the district would identify students who struggle with inclusion. Commissioner Tao asked whether the observed drops were unique to LGBTQ students; Yang said patterns vary across demographic groups and that more detailed analysis is underway. Commissioners also discussed possible community partnerships with UW–Eau Claire and other local resources to support student leadership and inclusion efforts.

The district said a formal SEL program review is underway and staff are refining a ten-component approach to embedding SEL across classroom practice, curriculum and school routines. Superintendent Johnson and administrators emphasized that the district plans to share successful Memorial practices with other buildings and to prioritize a small number of high-impact strategies at each school.

What’s next: district staff will continue the SEL program review, work on data protocols to allow more nuanced subgroup analysis, and offer professional learning to replicate Memorial’s pilot practices in other buildings.