Caledonia sixth, ninth and 12th graders were among the thousands of Minnesota students whose opinions and experiences were shared last week by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Joe Nathan
Center for School Change
Caledonia sixth, ninth and 12th graders were among the thousands of Minnesota students whose opinions and experiences were shared last week by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Some schools wisely survey youngsters every year to help assess their progress. The results can help families and well as educators.
As Paul DeMorrett, principal of the Caledonia Middle/High School wrote to me:
“The students of Caledonia Public Schools did participate in the survey by the Minnesota Department of Education. We are obviously encouraged by the reduction of students participating in negative behaviors, as well as the rise in students considering post-secondary education. Of course, we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to continue in educating our youth so the trends can continue, not reverse.”
Two things of the many things that grabbed me were 9 percent of ninth and 12th graders, and about 95 percent of younger students, say their parents care about them “quite a bit” or “very much.” The vast majority of parents have convinced youngsters that they care.
Thirty-two percent of high school seniors report that they sometimes “ride with friends after they have been using drugs or alcohol.” That’s down from 43 percent in 1992, but it’s still a lot of students. Parents, we really need to talk about this.
There is a link to the full report at this website: education.state.mn.us/MDE/About_MDE/News_Center/Press_Releases/019015
Here are comments from a few other school leaders:
Peter Olson, principal at Princeton High School reported, “One of the positive survey results is the report that methamphetamine use by students has all but disappeared. Our statistics also show that over 76 percent of our high school students do not use tobacco products and 77 percent have not used alcohol during the last month. Our continuing concern is the consumption of alcohol by underage students and the negative effect it has on their personal development. One of the statistics that caught my eye was that 21 percent of males and 27 percent of females have been talking on the phone or texting for at least 21 hours in the typical week. This certainly is a sign of the times and a change from previous years and seems like a lot of time on the phone.”
Jeff McGonigal, Coon Rapids High School principal wrote that he was “heartened by some of the trends (for example, seat belt use and tobacco use) but remains frustrated by any level of chemical or tobacco use, when the impact is so great on young lives. I hope the recent tobacco use reductions modeled by adults is making an impression on teens.”
Cam Hedlund, principal at Lakes International Language (Charter) Academy, LILA – Forest Lake and Vanessta Spark at Spectrum High School in Elk River both reported that their schools did not participate in the survey last year. However, both schools do annual student surveys.
Doing that – surveying youngsters every year – is a darn good idea. Families and educators need to know what’s happening from the youngsters’ point of view. We won’t always agree. But listening to them can help show where we’re making progress, and what needs more work.
Stuar Fuhs, principal in Rush City reported that the district’s students “ on average were 4 to 6 percent above positive behavior state percentages (i.e. 88.9% of state 12 graders report wanting to attend college – Rush City is at 96%), and usually well below negative behavior state percentages (i.e. seniors reporting to have smoked in the last 30 days – State 19.2% Rush City less than 10%). The survey results help our district to focus on areas of need that will improve our school climate curriculum and culture.”
Forest Lake Principal Steve Massey wrote, “I am not surprised by the results. Our extensive work in the area of college preparation and readiness is resulting in more and more students being prepared for college and making the transition to college. Additionally, we have implemented seat belt use awareness and incentive campaigns and we believe this is making a difference with the level of seat belt use by students. We continue to take student chemical use very seriously. We provide many educational and promotional opportunities in this area. The community has been a very effective partner in educating our students on the importance of abstaining from the use of alcohol and drugs.”
Like Lakes International, Spectrum High School in Elk River and Northwest Passage in Coon Rapids did not participate in the survey last year. However, both schools do annual student surveys.
That is a darn good idea. Families and educators need to know what’s happening from the youngsters’ point of view. We won’t always agree. But listening to them can help show where we’re making progress, and what needs more work.
Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher and school administrator, directs the Center for School Change at Macalester College. He welcomes reactions, jnathan@macalester.edu
