District 128 reports 89% response rate on new student life-skills survey; growth-mindset items changed

The district presented results from the annual student life-skills and well-being measure (administered Aug. 21, the ninth day of school), which the data team now gives in the fall to screen students who may need early support.

Charlotte Imes, director of data and assessment, told the committee the district achieved an 89% response rate across its two high schools. Imes emphasized that the vendor, Panorama Education, renamed and re-normed some topics this year and that the district made a few survey-item changes of its own.

"We like to give this early because we use it partially as a screening measure to find any students who need support," Imes said. She highlighted several items the district is monitoring: growth mindset showed a decline in percent-favorable responses but the district cautioned that Panorama substantially rewrote those items this year and students may have interpreted them differently. Imes said the data team and teachers followed up with student focus groups to better understand responses.

Two findings the district flagged as actionable: the percent of students who answered "almost all the time" or "a lot of the time" to the question "During the past two weeks, how often did you pay attention in class?" rose from 72% last year to 89% this year, a 17-point improvement Imes described as a promising signal for the district's "ready to learn" initiatives.

Imes said a newly added item about trusted adults produced meaningful follow-up steps: 86% of students said they have at least one trusted adult at school and 14% said no. Imes reported that 43% of the students who said "no" were ninth graders and that school teams are reaching out: "We're informing coaches, counselors, teachers, any academic club sponsors so that one of those people will be able to make that connection."

Imes summarized the district's protocol: learning-support teams review student-level responses (the survey is not anonymous), follow up immediately with students who appear to need help, the data team produces aggregate reports for teachers and leadership, and principals convene student focus groups to explore survey interpretation and context.

Board members raised timing concerns; several suggested administering the survey later in the fall or offering a second, briefer pulse check to avoid "survey fatigue" and to capture students' experiences after the first month of school. Imes said the district is balancing the need for early screening with concerns about over-surveying students.

Speakers included Charlotte Imes (director of data and assessment) and multiple staff referenced the Panorama survey and the district MTSS process.