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Youth Truth results: high participation; student engagement and staff professional support flagged for attention
Summary
The district reported strong survey participation but mixed results: elementary student engagement was high while high-school student engagement and several academic measures declined; staff reported decreased professional development opportunities.
District staff presented Youth Truth survey results at the June 12 meeting, reporting high participation across students, families and staff and highlighting areas for follow-up, including student engagement at the high school and declines in staff professional support.
Participation: Staff said the district had 2,963 total respondents across students, families and staff. Family response rates were reported at about 47% district-wide (elementary 53%, middle 40%, high 44%). Student response rates were 87% district-wide (elementary 99%, middle 89%, high 77%). Staff response was reported at 92% (elementary 90%, middle 96%, high 93%). Presenters described the response rates as strong and useful for improvement work.
Key findings by measure: On engagement (percent positive), the presentation reported a mixed picture: high-school student positive responses were 39% (a decline of 4 points year over year), while high-school family positives rose 20 points to 29%; high-school staff positives were 61% (up 1). Middle-school student engagement was 44% (up 5), families 22% (down 3), staff 84% (down 1). Elementary student engagement was 91% (up 2), families 65% (down 3), staff 84% (down 5).
Other domains: Relationship quality and school culture measures showed small year-to-year changes with some improvements for families and staff at certain levels and declines elsewhere. Staff professional support recorded “drastic decreases” district-wide, which presenters linked to this year’s limited professional development opportunities amid budget constraints; staff said next year’s work will include targeted professional learning.
Board response and next steps: Presenters emphasized that principals and school teams will use the Youth Truth data to set school improvement goals for 2025–26 and that staff will dig deeper into disaggregated results after summer. The district offered to provide board members and the public a deeper data dive later, and recommended using Youth Truth findings in the upcoming strategic planning process.
Why it matters: Youth Truth data informs school improvement, equity monitoring, and curricular and climate interventions. Board members and staff said they will prioritize follow-up work on student belonging, staff supports and disaggregated measures for vulnerable groups.
