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Watchung Hills presentation: survey shows high sense of safety but flags subgroup gaps
Summary
District staff presented Rutgers-backed school climate survey results showing high overall ratings—about 94% on student sense of physical safety in the most recent two-year comparison—but flagged disparities by race and gender in safety, belonging and negative interpersonal behaviors; participation dipped and the district plans follow-up work.
Mister Espino, a district staff member presenting the Rutgers/New Jersey School Climate survey results, told the Watchung Hills Regional High School District board that the district’s climate is overall positive and that the district plans to continue annual administration and use results to guide the strategic plan.
Espino said the survey—administered to students, staff and parents—measures nine shared domains (examples: academic culture and classroom practices; supportive staff–student relationships; social‑emotional learning supports; behavioral expectations; prosocial and negative interpersonal behaviors; student voice). He described the NJ GSKY platform’s interactive tools and Rutgers’ School Climate Transformation Project support that the district has used since a 2020–21 pilot rollout.
Why it matters: Boards use this data to set priorities for instruction, safety and supports. Espino tied survey trends to district initiatives—expanded student supports, tutoring, transition programming for ninth graders, professional development and STEAM/DesignLab work—and said the district will seek Rutgers coaching opportunities to move initiatives forward.
Key findings and participation: Espino reported engagement figures and domain trends. He said student participation this year was about 74 percent (he described this as a notable dip from prior years), roughly 129 staff responses (about half of district staff) and 146 parent responses. On domains, Espino highlighted sense of physical safety as the top-scoring domain, saying it rose from about 89 percent two years ago to about 94 percent most recently. He said all nine student domains increased year‑on‑year overall.
Equity signal: Espino reported subgroup differences that merit further attention. He said three domains—sense of physical safety, student sense of belonging and negative student interpersonal behaviors—showed mean‑score gaps of about 0.5 points between the highest‑scoring subgroup and at least one other subgroup when disaggregated by race/ethnicity; gender differences appeared across several domains as well. Espino said grade‑level and language‑spoken‑at‑home comparisons did not show statistically significant discrepancies.
Board response and next steps: Board members asked about access to comparative data from other districts and an electronic copy of the presentation. Espino said the survey is anonymous, that Rutgers holds statewide breakdowns, and that the district has interactive subgroup views in the platform; he offered to add electronic copies to board folders and return with a more detailed, longer presentation on specific question‑level breakdowns. He also said the district will continue annual administration and use the findings to inform the next strategic‑plan goals.
What’s next: Espino asked for feedback on administration timing to boost parent engagement and noted the district will explore Rutgers’ coaching/cohort opportunities that provide multi‑year professional development and direct consultant access. The board thanked Espino for compiling the results and requested additional data in work folders for follow‑up questions.
