Vancouver schools see modest gains in student belonging; survey flags gaps by question and group

Interim Associate Superintendent Janelle Ephraim told the Vancouver School District board the presentation would show how the district’s strategic plan is reflected in Panorama survey results on student belonging.

Chris Giannotti, the district elementary director, reported that 58% of third through fifth graders answered favorably on the belonging band and that 47% responded favorably to the single question “How much respect do students at your school show you?” He urged principals and school equity teams to dig into what “some respect” means at the building level and recommended using student leadership teams to gather richer local context.

Brian Graham, who oversees secondary curriculum and assessment, said middle school belonging rose to about 51% (a roughly 4-point uptick from spring) and high school results improved toward 49%. He and Chris noted that Panorama recently began reporting middle and high school separately, which will help the district target transition years such as grades 6 and 9.

Presenters emphasized that Panorama is primarily a benchmarking tool. Staff advised that guiding coalitions and school-level teams should design follow-up questions or brief local surveys to explore the reasons behind lower scores on specific items. Board members asked staff to confirm historical disaggregation and said they want more targeted spring data and actionable follow-up at the school level.

“58% of our third through fifth graders are reporting that they feel like they’re valued members of the school community,” Giannotti said, and Brian Graham added, “That’s an exciting trend that we’re seeing.”

District staff said they will share the updated dashboard publicly and asked that board members encourage school teams to use the disaggregated slides and supplemental data to shape local action plans.