Harnessing the Power of Student Survey Data

Overview

Located in Sacramento City Unified School District, Miwok Middle School serves 1,075 students in grades 7-8 (CA School Dashboard, 2023). In an effort to check in on their students’ social-emotional well-being, Miwok Middle School partnered with the SHIFT Research Institute at UC Berkeley to administer the Berkeley Assessment of Social and Emotional Learning (BASEL; © Regents of the University of California). While the school had administered school climate surveys in the past, site leaders hoped to find a survey that could provide more actionable insights to improve school climate and culture for their students of color, in particular. The BASEL survey addressed this need, as it was designed to support local social-emotional learning (SEL) programming for equity and well-being by facilitating the measurement of 1) emotional well-being, 2) resources for coping, 3) experiences of safety and connection, 4) opportunities for student voice and leadership, 5) experiences with culturally and linguistically responsive environments, and 6) social and emotional competencies including transformative equity elaborations). 

When Drs. Addison Duane and Valerie Shapiro of the SHIFT Research Institute reached out to Miwok Middle School to be one of two potential pilot sites in the district to administer the BASEL survey, they welcomed the opportunity to assess students’ well-being and the conditions that shape their learning experiences — with an explicit focus on equity. Through this partnership between research and practice, the team sought to collaboratively answer the following two questions:

• How can educators use survey data to support change?

• How can data utilization promote equity?

The discussion didn’t end there. Miwok Middle School paired their survey data with student-focused empathy interviews and listening sessions, with the support of researchers from the SHIFT Research Institute and the Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS) program, to uncover deeper insights into their school culture and climate. Miwok site leaders invited SHIFT researchers to come to campus to conduct student focus groups to further understand student responses on the survey. Focus group student participants spanned both 7th and 8th grade and were mostly comprised of students of color. During these conversations, researchers asked “What would you want adults at school to do with the survey responses you shared?” HEARTS's listening sessions were specific to Miwok’s Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) student population, focused on relationships, safety, and sense of belonging at school. Across all additional forms of data collection, findings revealed that students want to feel connected and have trusting relationships with adults who care about them, see them for who they are, and intervene when they witness behaviors that may make other students feel unsafe (e.g., bullying, microaggressions). Students also called out the importance of seeing representation of different cultures, ethnicities, gender, etc. in what they're taught. With this additional data, Miwok was able to focus their discussions on how staff can cultivate stronger relationships with their students. These conversations informed classroom practices, professional development topics, as well as the need to be more mindful and intentional about they interact with their students — and with each other as they are modeling how to treat others with respect. 

Implementing Anti-Bias & Trauma-Informed Practices

Miwok’s efforts around improving belonging/connectedness and centering racial equity in student data extends beyond their discussions in staff meetings. Miwok partnered with EPOCH Education to provide all staff with professional development focused on equity — how to recognize biases and microaggressions, how to interrupt these patterns, and how to effectively support students in the classroom as an anti-biased, anti-racist, trauma-informed educator. Through this work, Miwok Middle School has implemented some changes to ensure students feel seen, heard, and understood. 

Continuing Their Continuous Improvement Journey

As a generally high performing school, Miwok Middle School didn't have an established, collaborative data culture. Data analysis happened in pockets, where individual teachers would look at data specific to their students to monitor their progress. In an effort to bridge the gaps in their data culture, Miwok made a concerted effort to use data to improve their school culture and climate, rather than focusing solely on instruction. This provided a good entry point for all staff to be more data-focused. As students’ social emotional learning impacts all content areas and grade levels, teachers were more receptive to understanding the data, monitoring progress, and assessing current practices to determine opportunities for improvement. 

Improving students’ sense of belonging and connectedness has become a collective, school-wide effort, which has further been solidified by Miwok’s commitment to embed a goal specific to promoting a positive, inclusive environment for all students, as measured by the BASEL survey results, in their School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) (2023-24 SPSA). Having a common goal to rally around has reignited a stronger sense of purpose across the staff. In a way, it has become the school’s “north star” in guiding their data-driven conversations around not only their instructional practices, but their school practices and policies as well. Miwok began to examine all of their practices to understand how they may make students feel. They realized that something as simple as the school's dress code could be hindering their efforts to connect and build relationships with students, especially if staff are more worried about enforcing a policy than focusing on the student in front of them. Additionally, as dress codes are typically geared toward one gender and can be biased toward certain body types, Miwok wanted to ensure that their dress code policy helped students feel comfortable in who they are, without worrying about about another thing they did "wrong" at school. Miwok’s site leaders are hoping that their synergistic efforts will create a more cohesive, data-driven culture where teachers continue to build their capacity in examining, understanding and utilizing data to inform their continuous improvement process.

Lessons Learned

Miwok’s journey of improving their school culture and climate was only possible when everyone was focused and on board with what they were trying to achieve. Site leaders encouraged all teachers and staff to reflect on their “why.” What brought them to this career path? What were they hoping to achieve for their students? How does improving students’ sense of belonging fit into that? They wanted the entire school community to realize that their reason and purpose behind this work is one and the same — and that each of them serve a purpose in making students feel like they belong at school. With the collective support of their staff, they were able to begin building that foundation of trust between teachers and administrators. They were able to put their guards down throughout this continuous improvement journey. In doing so, Miwok hopes that they can do the same with their students to build a culture of belonging and connectedness.

Learn More About Miwok Middle School's Partners 

• SHIFT Research Institute at UC Berkeley works with counties, districts, and schools who are interested in using data to explore school experiences, understand individual and collective strengths, and identify areas for growth. For more information, please email CaliforniaSEL@berkeley.edu.  

• Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS) is working with Miwok Middle School for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school year to offer professional development to the staff in the area of trauma-informed practices to support their efforts around social-emotional learning for students and adults.

Meet the Team