North Kingstown advisory committee recommends student equity survey to school committee

The North Kingstown DEI Advisory Committee voted to recommend that a student survey developed by the committee be sent to the school committee for approval, the advisory panel said at its meeting.

The recommendation covers a survey aimed at high school students to collect solution-focused input on classroom management and discipline, microaggressions, racism, belonging and supports for LGBTQ+ students. The advisory group said some questions will be split between a broad survey and deeper focus groups for more complex or sensitive topics.

Why it matters: committee members said student voice is needed to shape next steps on issues flagged in earlier equity work. The group discussed balancing anonymous surveys, which can reach many students, with focus groups that can capture more nuanced responses on complex topics such as microaggressions and racism.

William "Will" Moss, a student and member of the student union who helped pilot the questions, said the student feedback showed some items were "too complicated to be put in a survey" and recommended using focus groups for those questions. Moss added, "some questions could be good for a survey," and suggested keeping wording simple to improve comprehension.

Committee members debated which questions should go out in a written survey and which should be reserved for focus groups. Several members argued a staggered approach: issue a short survey to collect broad input, then use focus groups to probe themes and gather solution ideas. Others urged that sensitive questions be addressed primarily in focus groups because students noted they might not understand or feel safe answering certain items without additional context.

Rob Mazzanati, assistant superintendent, told the committee the plan is to recommend the survey to the school committee and follow the district's approval process. Committee members discussed logistics including attaching definitions (for example, of "microaggression") and links to supports and resources in the survey instructions to help respondents understand terms and access help if needed.

The advisory committee made a motion to recommend the survey to the school committee; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Committee members said the survey, if approved, would be presented at a future school committee meeting and the administration would handle implementation details and timing.

Next steps: committee members agreed to proceed with recommending the survey to the school committee, continue planning focus groups for the most sensitive questions, and coordinate with district administration on the survey rollout and linkage to resources.