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Poway Unified shows positive survey trends, expands counseling supports; trustees seek more longitudinal detail
Summary
District staff reported new Kelvin Pulse short surveys and Healthy Kids benchmark results showing strong elementary and middle school indicators; the district also presented a comprehensive K–12 counseling program and suicide‑risk screening data. Trustees asked staff to clarify question changes between survey runs and to restore a counselor showcase in future presentations.
District leaders presented student perception data and an overview of the district’s comprehensive school counseling program.
Julie Goldberg described two primary instruments: Kelvin Pulse, a short recurring survey intended to provide quick, actionable feedback, and the California Healthy Kids survey, a longer biennial benchmark. Staff said Kelvin will establish a baseline this year and that Healthy Kids allows statewide comparisons.
Goldberg reported strong elementary and middle school results on connectedness and safety and noted lower high‑school participation rates on Kelvin, which complicates interpretation at that level. She acknowledged an instance where the district added a new item to a domain between February and April administrations, which changed the composite score and prompted board questions about apples‑to‑apples comparisons.
Counseling staff explained the district’s ASCA‑aligned program and said Poway Unified employs about 80 counselors systemwide. Presenters reported approximate caseload ratios of about 365:1 at middle schools and 392:1 at high schools, with elementary ratios varying by site (reported range 335:1 to 877:1 depending on counselor assignment). District staff described suicide‑risk screener use (Columbia Screener) and said middle schools have increased screenings as peer‑support programs grow.
A student excerpt played for trustees illustrated individual impact: a student described counselors as trusted adults who helped them return to school and succeed academically.
What’s next: Trustees asked for clearer documentation of which questions map to Kelvin domains, opt‑out/response rates by level, and recommended restoring the counselor showcase and one‑pager materials that historically provided deeper, site‑level practice details.
