File Photo by Gabriel Christus/Aurora Sentinel
AURORA | Most Aurora Public School students reported feeling safe, both physically and psychologically in schools, according to data from the district’s climate survey.
Superintendent Michael Giles presented the results of the annual student climate survey, which reveals students’ thoughts on safety in classrooms, hallways and bathrooms. However, Giles also acknowledged that the data is skewed due to lower participation among students and changes to the survey from the past.
In previous years, the survey discussed overall safety in school but did not differentiate between physical and psychological safety. District documents state that this year, the survey was modified to provide more insight on physical safety. Therefore, there is no comparative data for students’ thoughts on physical safety. But there is comparative data for students’ thoughts on psychological safety.
According to district information, students were asked questions like, “how physically safe do you feel in the classroom,” and had to respond with one of three answers: “somewhat safe,” ”mostly safe,” and “very safe.” The district categorized the latter two responses as a positive response.
Recent data shows that, overall, 78% of students who responded to the survey positively said they felt physically safe in school. More students reported feeling safe in classrooms than in the hallways or bathrooms. Giles explained that this could be because of adult presence in the classrooms.
Fewer students felt psychologically safe in schools, with 74% responding positively to the survey. Students in this survey were asked about being teased and bullied in school, as well as feeling a sense of belonging in school.
Last school year, 83% of students responded positively to the survey. District documents reiterated that low student participation may have contributed to the decline in the number of students queried, but that the district will continue to provide mental health support to students.
When speaking about student participation for the surveys, Giles said it may be because the survey was sent out around the same time that students had to take standardized tests. He also said that it can be difficult to make time during class for students to do this survey.
The district received about 20,000 responses from students from fifth grade to 12th grade, which makes up less than a quarter of the student population in those grades. Of those responses, 10,458 came from high school students, which primarily reflects the views of students in one school. District documents did not specify which high school. Only 7,484 responses came from students from sixth grade through eighth grade, and only 2,563 responses came from students in fifth grade.