Posted by: thepinetree on 10/25/2013 08:40 AM
Updated by: thepinetree on 10/25/2013 08:40 AM
Expires: 01/01/2018 12:00 AM
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“New and Improved’ California Healthy Kids Survey Coming Up In Calaveras Schools
Angels Camp, CA...The biennial California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) will be administered countywide this November, inviting all students and faculty in all districts to share, anonymously, their perspectives on a wide range of topics related to school safety and culture...
“The CHKS allows us to collect information about school strengths that we can celebrate and student needs that should be addressed,” said Kathy Northington, Calaveras County superintendent of schools. “Administering the surveys in all districts at the same time of year gives us more comparable data countywide, and the more students who take the survey, the more accurate the information will be.”
The Healthy Kids Survey identifies developmental assets in students’ lives such as caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for meaningful participation on campus. Various survey modules assess attitudes toward school and campus life and gather information on health-related behaviors such as physical activity, nutritional habits, alcohol/tobacco/other drug use, and bullying. Extensive research has proven a close connection between student health and resilience and student academic and school success.
CHKS data helps schools identify and address important local issues. For example, in 2011 -- the first year in which the CHKS was administered countywide -- surveyed students reported feeling very connected to their school and community. In the general student population across the county (not including alternative schools), Calaveras students reported feeling safe at school but experiencing more cyber-bullying than the state averages. All schools have been working hard to reduce cyber-bullying. Smokeless tobacco use is low for seventh graders in Calaveras County, but grows to more than double the state rates by ninth and eleventh grades. As a result, a countywide Tobacco Use Prevention Education grant program has been focusing on this issue for the past two years.
WestEd and the California Department of Education have just undertaken the most extensive revision of the CHKS since its launch in 1998 to further enhance its value for addressing school climate and culture, including discipline, bullying, and student engagement. Among the changes, the Core Module has been shortened and an Inventory of Student Motivation added. The CHKS now is one of the nation's most comprehensive measures of factors associated with school, career, and life success.
Calaveras County administers the CHKS to students in seventh, ninth and eleventh grades and the School Climate Survey to teachers and staff. Most schools will be able to offer an on-line version this year, eliminating the time-consuming process of photocopying, distributing, collecting and mailing in paper-based surveys.
Schools are required to administer the survey, but students are not required to take it. “Our goal this year is to increase overall student participation to at least 70% to get the most accurate portrait of our school community,” Northington said. “Most of our students are willing to participate, as this is an opportunity to share their thoughts, opinions and feelings. We want parents to recognize how important the Healthy Kids Survey data is to our schools and our county, so they make it a priority to sign their student’s permission slip if one comes home.” Active parent permission is required for all students in Calaveras Unified School District.
Parents can preview the survey online at the Healthy Kids website: www.wested.org. Most districts and CCOE will administer the Core Module (Module A) and the AOD (Alcohol and Other Drugs) Module. For further information, parents can contact their student’s school.
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