District presents PSSM survey results showing steady strengths in teacher relationships, gaps in peer validation

District staff presented results from the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) survey, which measures students’ perceptions of belonging across identification/participation, peer relationships and teacher connection.

Christina Carter and members of the district data team said the PSSM has been administered in the district for multiple years and that this year the district processed the data in‑house using SPSS. Presenters emphasized that running the analysis internally allows building leaders to receive tailored reports and to examine subgroup trends so interventions can be targeted more precisely.

Key findings staff reported: the district’s overall PSSM average score rose to 3.97 (the highest since the COVID years), students consistently rate teacher relationships and perceptions of teacher respect as strong, but items tied to peer validation — for example, "other students in this school take my opinion seriously" and "I feel similar to most other students here" — scored lower. Staff noted the trend that belonging often declines as students progress into higher grades, a common pattern in research, and said cohort tracking showed declines in some groups across successive years.

Participation rates were cited for multiple buildings; the presentation noted about 1,336 middle‑school student responses for grade 6–8 questions and multiple parent response sets in smaller numbers. Staff signaled differences in survey item visibility between secondary and elementary versions (secondary students had more demographic options). Presenters said they used demographic fields to examine subgroup differences by race/ethnicity, religion, gender, LGBTQ identification and special education status, and that smaller subgroups can show greater year‑to‑year variability.

Planned follow‑up actions include: sharing building‑level reports with principals and equity teams; integrating PSSM results with ongoing initiatives (for example, responsive classroom in elementary schools and restorative practices in secondary schools); auditing curriculum for representation and inclusive content; and identifying building‑level focus areas tied to the survey for targeted summer work. The district also described K–12 leadership and extracurricular programs that support belonging: peer helpers, high‑school mentors visiting elementary schools, STEM Day, clubs and leadership institutes.

Board members asked about accommodations for students receiving special education services and English learners. Presenters said alternate response modes (simplified yes/no, color choices, or adult‑prompted responses) and translation support via SurveyMonkey are used as accommodations; district staff acknowledged a need to consider additional parent/guardian input channels and to examine cultural nuance in question wording for some families.

Staff asked principals to convert the survey findings into two targeted building goals and said they will continue to use the PSSM as one measure to guide equity and belonging work; no board action was requested at the meeting.