Parents....HEADS UP! Every school in Iowa will begin running their 6th, 8th, and 11th graders through the Iowa Youth Survey sometime in the next 4 weeks. Carlisle Middle School will be doing this survey Friday, October 8th, through Tuesday, October, 12th. One group of students may miss out during this time, but they will complete the survey later in the month. At the end of the month, the counselors will work with the district to get all results sent in and verified. Finally, next July, the results will be published across the state and we can begin evaluating the data and trying to understand what it means for our district and our youth. So, what is the Iowa Youth Survey? I have placed a link at the bottom of this blog entry, but in a nutshell the survey is an anonymous survey that nearly 100% of 6th, 8th, and 11th graders across Iowa take every 3 (now 2) years. This survey asks students basic questions like do they like their school, do they feel safe at school, and how much their community has to offer in the area of activities. But it also asks very personal questions about their drug/alcohol use, their attitudes and beliefs on drugs, risky decisions, and bullying, and even whether or not they have considered suicide. As a counselor, I am not allowed to look at their answers and their survey is done online and submitted immediately so that no one knows what they put. And as a counselor, the data we receive back about our district and how we compare to schools our size across the state is phenomenal. I have presented past data to several different groups (staff, school board, district committees, etc.) and I know our school and community, even the State of Iowa has acted on this data and made important decisions based on this data in order to make our schools and communities safer for our youth.
Please review the information that was sent home with the midterm reports and talk with your child about the importance of this survey. It is an optional survey, but we do hope for 100% of our students taking it as that gives us the most accurate picture of our youth and their current needs. Again, it is anonymous and safe for students to take and usually leads to good class discussions and later, great data for further discussion among everyone affected. If you have questions, please email/call me.
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