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Middletown advisory committee refines student health survey, delays launch until school contacts made
Summary
Committee members reviewed a draft SurveyMonkey questionnaire developed from a Middletown Health Department template, flagged sensitive items (gender identity, vaping) and agreed to consult the health department and meet the new Beaman principal before distributing the survey; the group approved the agenda and minutes and set next steps for Sept. 17.
Members of a Middletown advisory committee met on Aug. 28, 2025, and spent the bulk of the session finalizing plans for a student health survey to be distributed to middle-school families.
The liaison to the mayor (S1) said Casey had drafted questions in SurveyMonkey and that the committee needed technical help from Daisy Fernandez at the Middletown Health Department to confirm whether the platform could include an introductory narrative and automatically compile responses. "We have to learn more about behind-the-scenes functions for launching and putting this survey together," the liaison said.
Why it matters: Committee members said the survey will inform plans for school-based programs such as hygiene education and a food pantry partnership, but they also said district staffing turnover — including recently announced principal changes — means the committee must secure buy-in from current school leadership before outreach.
During the meeting, members flagged several survey items as potentially sensitive or needing clearer wording. A committee member (S5) questioned whether asking about gender identity was appropriate for a middle-school instrument and whether the committee had authority to include it. "We weren't sure if we could ask that question," the member said, noting the item appeared on the health-department sample. The same member also raised questions about asking whether students vape or use drugs and who would receive and tally those responses.
The liaison (S1) said those content and data-handling questions were reasons to consult Daisy Fernandez and to defer distribution until the committee confirmed the technical workflow. "We need to ask Daisy how SurveyMonkey gathers the information and tallies it," S1 said.
The committee discussed targeting grades 6–8 and whether response data should be segmented by grade. The liaison said the health-department survey had been distributed to parents earlier and that the committee hoped SurveyMonkey would provide grade-specific breakdowns, but she said the group had not yet verified that.
On logistics and next steps, Deb and Howard volunteered to meet the new Beaman school principal; the liaison asked to be included in that meeting as city liaison. Chair (S4) proposed reconvening the finalized survey discussion at the committee's September 17 meeting after schools had reopened and staffing issues had settled.
Votes at a glance: The group voted to approve the meeting agenda for August 2025 and to approve minutes from July 23, 2025; both items passed by voice vote. Committee member (S5) moved to adjourn late in the meeting; a second was recorded and the meeting was closed.
The committee left action items as: (1) contact Daisy Fernandez at the Middletown Health Department about SurveyMonkey configuration and data handling; (2) schedule a meeting with the Beaman principal (volunteers: Deb and Howard, with the liaison joining); and (3) finalize question wording and data-segmentation plans for review at the Sept. 17 meeting.
