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27J student advisory council presents safety survey: social exhaustion, non-student entry and threats top concerns
Summary
Student Advisory Council members presented a districtwide safety survey (271 responses reported for Brighton; 111 for Riverdale) showing social exhaustion, classroom expectations, weapons threats and non-students entering buildings as leading concerns; trustees asked for deeper analysis before policy changes.
Student members of the School District 27J Student Advisory Council told the board on May 27 that a recent district survey points to social exhaustion, classroom expectations and concerns about threats and building access as the most frequent student safety worries. Rachel, a student presenter, said Brighton produced 271 survey responses districtwide and that social exhaustion was the single largest mental-health category.
“Social exhaustion was the biggest category that affected mental health the most,” the student presenter said, reporting that Brighton responses highlighted classroom expectations and the pressure to excel as a top stressor. The presentation also found weapons-related concerns were dominated by threats rather than “pure weapon access,” and that many students reported worries about non-students entering school buildings.
Why it matters: trustees said the survey gives the board and district staff a starting point to target safety and mental-health work, but multiple board members urged caution in drawing policy conclusions from the broad categories. Board President said the next step is to define terms such as “social exhaustion” and to drill into school-specific patterns so that any changes address root causes rather than perceptions.
Students representing Riverdale Ridge and smaller schools described similar patterns. Eliana, a Riverdale student, told the board her school had about 111 responses and singled out non-students entering, door access and parking-lot safety as local priorities. Scout, representing Eagle Ridge, reported that smaller schools tended to show fewer violent incidents but persistent concerns about gossip and social-media–driven strain on student wellbeing.
Board members praised the students’ work and the communications team for distributing the survey, but asked for more detailed analysis. One trustee said the district should “drill down” into the categories and produce definitions so staff can design interventions that match students’ concerns. Trustees also asked staff to work with the Student Advisory Council and district departments to return with school-level insights and recommended actions.
The students closed by announcing new Student Advisory Council leadership — president Eliana, vice president Kieran and secretary Ivy — and invited board members to a Topgolf event on June 17. No formal action was taken; trustees directed staff to follow up on data clarification and next steps.
