MCS students participate in voluntary wellness report
MITCHELL — Students at Mitchell Community Schools have participated in a student wellness report designed to assess the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and exposure to benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) within the student population.
Students were also encouraged to provide their thoughts on the overall impact of the school environment, whether or not they feel safe when attending school and the amount of trust they place in their peers or teachers when interacting together in a classroom setting.
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A major goal of the report was to evaluate student exposure to disruptive childhood experiences, ranging from different types of abuse to physical or emotional neglect. It also reviewed whether or not students positively cope with these setbacks by analyzing their resilience levels.
A student response rate of 72.2% was reached, with 476 out of 659 total students in grades 7-12 electing to partake in the survey to determine how many ACEs and BCEs they have experienced so far in their lives. All student responses were anonymous and participating in the survey was completely voluntary.
The report was completed through a collaboration between the IU School of Social Work, United Way of South-Central Indiana and MCS. United Way SCI also provided funding for the initiative. All of the data was collected in January.
Students attending North Lawrence Community Schools participated in a similar assessment last year. The report found that 70% of NLCS students in grades 7-12 who were surveyed have experienced at least one type of ACE.
What exactly are ACE scores?
Students were asked to choose from a list of 10 different types of adversity that they may have personally encountered in their lives. The list includes parental divorce/separation, incarceration of a family member, mental illness, substance use in the family household, physical abuse, physical neglect, psychological abuse, emotional neglect, domestic violence and sexual abuse.
The assessment specifically focused on adversities that young individuals might experience before reaching 18 years of age. The report defines ACEs as "traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and wellbeing."
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The report found that more than 70% of surveyed students experienced one or more types of ACEs. Furthermore, 29% have experienced four or more ACEs.
Adolescents who report ACE scores of four or more are typically considered by researchers to be at an elevated risk. The report notes that higher ACE scores correlate with an increased probability of depression, possible substance use and other socioeconomic and mental health-related challenges across populations.
IU School of Social Work's John Keesler, who contributed to the report, noted that this varies on a personal level and is influenced by an individual's genetics, the environment they grew up in, their own resilience and adoption of positive coping methods.
"That is really alarming because ACE scores of four or more are kind of seen as the tipping point for poorer outcomes. One of the things to note is that it's not a given at an individual level," Keesler said. "So if I have an ACE of four or more, it's not a given that I'm going to experience substance use. But generally across populations what they have seen is that those with scores of four or more do have poorer outcomes."
Parental divorce/separation stood out as the most common type of ACE, with 54.8% of students reporting this. Incarceration of a family member and psychological abuse round out the top three ACEs in the pool of students.
Additionally, 26.5% of surveyed students have experienced zero ACEs.
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Students were also asked to confirm if they had been bullied in the school and/or the community. Bullying was not taken into account when computing the students' total ACE scores.
More than 48% of students reported that they have experienced bullying.
The assessment found that students who had been bullied tended to report higher ACE scores, fewer BCEs, reduced levels of trust in the school environment and lower resilience.
Importance of the school environment
The students gave MCS a 3.34 out of 5 when rating its level of trauma-informed care. More than 1 in 4 students did not trust school adults and more than 1 in 3 students did not trust their peers. Nearly half of the students felt that they could not safely share their thoughts and feelings at school.
"If you don't have students in a good place, academics really take a backseat," MCS Superintendent Brent Comer said. "This wellness report was extremely valuable to us and we had some other initiatives going on anyway. This wellness report provided us with some real data that we could use to make some informed decisions."
The school environment was measured based on the five principles of trauma-informed care: choice, collaboration, empowerment, safety and trustworthiness. For example, one of the statements posed to students on the survey is, "I can share my thoughts and feelings at school without others making fun of me." Students were then instructed to agree or disagree with each statement.
Superintendent Comer says this wellness report will help MCS continue to develop new strategies that put the well being of its students first.
MCS has developed multiple initiatives over the last few years to help its students feel more comfortable in school settings, improve the graduation rate and tackle problems at an earlier age.
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An example includes the expansion of an early detection system designed to identify young students who are struggling in school, whether that be with grades, low attendance or a change in behavior.
"So any of those can be flagged at a certain threshold and we can adjust our thresholds if needed," MCS Assistant Superintendent Jessica Jones said. "Each building is working to develop a system where they look at that data regularly and then we have a large toolbox of interventions for students or families, both around behavioral needs and academic needs."
The priority is to provide intervention as early as possible to help the students navigate any issues they might be facing. It was developed by school counselors, teachers and administrators.
"One big thing from our survey that was a big takeaway is just that love and belongingness that we all need to feel before we can actually learn the reading, math, science and social studies content," Jones said. "So that early warning system, we have that K through 12, but it's really a way to address those problems as early as possible before they turn into habits for students and families that are harder to break."
Comer and Jones said the district is determined to help students improve their self-esteem and build more trust trust between the adults and students in the schools.
"Too many of our kids answered that they didn't feel comfortable expressing either an opinion or being themselves without a retaliation of being made fun of or picked on for just stating their opinion, or their own beliefs and thoughts," Comer said. "That was really eye opening for us in the group because when you walk the halls, you can feel a safe school, you can see the signs saying we care, we love and all those kinds of things. But obviously, there's an undercurrent there that we weren't seeing if that many kids are responding that."
MCS had already been looking into the possibility of hiring a social worker even before this wellness report was completed. Comer confirmed that a licensed social worker has been hired and will begin their work at the start of the new school year. The social worker will collaborate closely with guidance counselors and administrators to help students who might be struggling.
"Before we can get academics to where we want, we've got kids that are hurting. We've got kids that are really in need of some very different support that schools never addressed before," Comer said. "As a community, let's work together and help kids because we've got some kids that need help. They need more help than just the school, they need all of us to start putting a priority on these kids in the future."
BCE scores
The report also asked questions centered around 10 different types of BCEs the students might have encountered during their childhood.
Less than 50% of students reported that they found enjoyment at school, and less than 70% liked or felt comfortable with themselves.
Each one is listed below alongside the percentage of students who answered yes to each statement.
At least one caregiver with whom you felt safe? - 98.1%
At least one good friend - 96 %
Beliefs that give you comfort - 87 %
Enjoyment at school - 44.6%
At least one teacher that cared - 82.6%
Good neighbours - 78.9%
An adult who could provide you with support or advice - 88.5%
Opportunities to have a good time - 94.7%
Like yourself or feel comfortable with yourself - 69.4%
Predictable home routine, like regular meals and a regular bedtime - 71.6%
Higher BCE scores can help students more effectively cope with the risks posed by higher ACE scores by acting as a buffer against adversity and stress.
More than 70% of students experienced eight or more BCEs.
The resilience levels of the students were also measured in the survey. Students answered questions that focused on a range of different coping methods that can help with reducing stress or managing difficult situations in a positive manner. Some statements that were posed to the students were "I am friends with myself" or "I usually take things in my stride." The students then opted to agree or disagree with each statement.
What does all of this mean?
Keesler said one of the takeaways from the report is that students and their positive experiences should continue to be nurtured. Another area of focus is making the school environment more trauma-informed to assist with improving student resilience levels.
"The school environment can actually contribute to bolstering student resilience. We know that students experience stress, both in school and home, in the community, and will throughout the rest of their life," Keesler said. "So setting that stage for more resilient youth is a critical part of the process of having a healthier adult community."
Keesler says the findings of the report underscore the importance of the community working together to address student wellness on a communal scale.
"It's only through collaboration and partnership that communities can move forward and it begins with increased awareness. The second thing is once you see it, you can't unsee it. So we need to respond and developing a plan of action based on the data is the best way to go," Keesler said. "So some simple things are bringing in the community, letting the community know this what we're looking at and this is what we're finding, this is what we're seeing, so how can we work together?"
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Keesler said he believes that the next steps should center on a tiered approach featuring awareness, education, training and intervention.
United Way SCI Executive Director Kim Burgess agrees that a trauma-informed approach can help MCS administrators, teachers and staff better understand some of the emotional or social difficulties their students may be experiencing, and help explain why they are behaving in a certain way. Trauma-informed care focuses on restoring a sense of physical and psychological safety to build trust.
"So they're at least aware of these kids and what is going on in their lives. Instead of punishing them or expelling them, they get to the root of what's causing the issue rather than punishing the issue and trying to figure out what's causing the behavior rather than punishing the behavior," Burgess said.
Keesler praised MCS for its willingness to engage with its students through this wellness report and being open to new ways that they can continue improving the school environment.
"The school district wanted to know and not only did they want to know, but they provided students with the opportunity to have a voice. They were all in," Keesler noted. "Students were able to voice their experiences and their perspectives, not only of their personal lives but of the school. They've identified ways for families and the school to improve. I think fundamentally, and all too often, we silence the voices of younger people. And here, we gave them an opportunity to speak up. Now it's our job to respond."
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Mitchell school students participate in voluntary wellness report
