Uplift Education, a public charter school district serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area, has figured out how to make their climate and culture objectives both measurable and actionable.
Many K-12 district improvement plans include initiatives intended to improve school climate and create a more positive school culture. This is a step in the right direction, demonstrating that K-12 educational leaders recognize the foundational role that safe, secure, and supportive learning environments play in students’ achievement and graduation rates.
There’s just one problem: school climate and culture can be notoriously hard to quantify – especially without listening to student voice. Without a clear understanding of where you stand today, or how to measure improvements, these well-intentioned initiatives are destined to fall short of producing the desired outcomes.
Read on to learn how they’re capturing student voice data and using it to build a district-wide culture grounded in wellness.
Collecting Student Voice Data Consistently and Equitably
Uplift Education operates 45 schools that provide a free International Baccalaureate (IB) education to more than 22,000 students from pre-K through 12th grade. What really makes Uplift unique, however, is their commitment to the wellbeing of the students and adults in their community, and their belief in the importance of student voice in shaping positive school culture.
To capture student voice consistently, Uplift surveys students across the district three times each school year. They use a custom survey tool called the VRC (Value/Respected/Challenged to Learn and Grow) Survey, which they administer using Securly Rhithm.
“We wanted to be able to create a survey that was unique to our students, their needs, and the goals that we have around providing the experience that we want to create for them. Securly Rhithm provides us with that option.”
Dr. Avril El-Amin, Director of Social-Emotional Learning, Uplift Education
Using Rhithm’s customization abilities, Uplift tailors their VRC surveys by grade level to ensure equitable access for all students. The youngest students are asked five simple questions about their relationship with teachers and respond using simple emojis, like a thumbs up or thumbs down.
A separate survey is used with students in 3rd through 5th grade. Their VRC survey asks seven questions, including specific questions about academics. CSIU’s older students in 6th through 12th grade receive a 10-question survey, which includes questions to assess their sense of belonging.
Using Student Data to Keep a Pulse on School Climate, Safety, and Student Wellness
Being able to collect VRC data was a huge first step for Uplift Education. With that foundational piece in place, Uplift is now consistently listening to student voice and relying on it to make decisions that improve students’ school experiences and add towards the overall positive school culture.
For example, at one point, VRC surveys revealed that Uplift’s high-school students felt their teachers weren’t investing in getting to know them as individuals. Uplift responded by developing PD to support teachers’ relationship-building skills. After this PD was delivered, survey data reflected that students’ ratings of their teacher relationships improved significantly.
“We even created a whole new department that’s just focused on the student experience and creating experiences and traditions that are unique to Uplift, and provide our students with opportunities to connect with each other. All of this came out of the VRC surveys.”
Dr. Avril El-Amin, Director of Social-Emotional Learning, Uplift Education
In addition to VRC data, Uplift is also using Rhithm to conduct short, daily student check-ins. Students respond to a short electronic survey on their school devices, which gives them a few minutes to identify how they’re feeling. Depending on each student’s responses, Rhithm delivers that student a short activity tailored to help them self-regulate and get ready to learn, a process teachers and students call “getting into Rhithm.”
Rhithm streamlines the sharing of this data through automated reporting. District and school leaders are able to review reports delivered directly to their inboxes. By having easy access to near real-time data, they’re able to keep a steady pulse on overall school climate. They can also set up notifications that alert them when response data indicates that individual students have urgent safety and wellness concerns.
For Uplift Education, Using Student Voice to Prioritize Wellness is More than a Goal: it’s a Reality
The rich data Rhithm provides isn’t just limited to leadership, but is being used by school-based teams as well to address needs at an individual student level.
Student self-assessment data gives counselors insight into a range of student safety and wellness issues, helping them identify kids who are experiencing bullying, hunger, safety threats, and mental health concerns. Student support specialists also use Rhithm data to identify students who are in conflict so they can pull them into restorative circles.
“It’s phenomenal really how many people across our district are using Rhithm data.”
Dr. Avril El-Amin, Director of Social-Emotional Learning, Uplift Education
With access to consistent and reliable data, Uplift is making decisions at the district and school level that reflect student voice. What started out as a vision of delivering rich and meaningful student experiences is now the reality for Uplift and the communities it serves.
By partnering with Securly, Uplift Education is:
- Giving students a voice in their educational experience
- Conducting large-scale collection of student voice data
- Proactively identifying and supporting students who need help
- Gaining critical buy-in from all staff
- Using data to inform PD and initiatives that build a positive school culture and climate
To learn more about Uplift Education’s story, read the case study.
