GPRA 7. Number and percent of students who feel safe at school and traveling to and from school, as measured by a school climate survey.

Definition. Perceptions of student safety at school and traveling to and from school should be asked directly of students and reported to the Department for GPRA 7.

Data is from the annual school climate and connectedness survey. The survey asks students if they feel safe at school and if they feel safe traveling to and from school. Students must respond affirmatively to both questions to be counted in the numerator.

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Boys Run I toowú klatseen (Elementary School):

Juneau - AWARE and Tlingit and Haida are working in partnership to test a new curriculum for Boys Run I toowú klatseen (“ITK”) in Juneau. This included piloting the new curriculum at one school in the spring, and 2 schools in the fall. The program sessions lasted 90 minutes and were held 2 times per week for a total of 20 sessions per site plus a combined end-of-season event. The fall season culminated in a Fun Run on December 10, 2022, in collaboration with Girls on the Run, where friends, families and siblings were invited to attend. This complete Fall season was instrumental in providing additional data (qualitative and quantitative evidence) for researchers who are working to assess program impact.

Hydaburg - Tlingit and Haida supported the first cohort of ITK in Hydaburg, where 18 boys participated.

Sitka - Sitkans Against Family Violence (SAFV), Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA), and the Sitka School District partnered to implement ITK cohorts in the spring and in the fall. In addition to the 20 lessons for boys in 3rd-5th grade, SAFV worked to incorporate parent education and family activities in order to reinforce program messages in the home setting. Of the 14 e-newsletters sent to 44 guardians and staff/coaches there was an average open rate of 71%. In addition, post-surveys of the program continue to be positive. One participant wrote “Every day at school when there’s something bad going on, I just think of Boys Run and it always makes my day”.

Angoon - SAFV supported Chatham School District to implement a summer cohort of ITK in Angoon, reaching 5 students in 3rd-5th grade.

Girls on the Run (Elementary and Middle School):

Juneau - AWARE implemented Girls on the Run for 3rd-5th grade girls at 3 JSD schools and Heart & Sole (the middle school curriculum) for 6th-8th grade girls at one JSD school. They implemented the 8-week, 16-lesson "fluid" versions of Girls on the Run Curriculum 2 and Heart & Sole Curriculum 1. Some GOTR lessons were Connecting as a team, Star Power, Self-Talk, BeYOUtiful, Expressing our Emotions, and Empathy. Some Heart & Sole lessons have been Making Connections, Overcoming Obstacles, and Pressing Pause. Each team has three full-time coaches who lead the lessons, and have the assistance of a site liaison at each site.

School Climate Strategies*:

Sitka - The Sitka Youth Leadership Committee (SYLC)’s peer educator group facilitated 13 presentations for middle and high school students in the community focused on healthy relationships and positive peer culture. One high school teacher expressed how much she appreciated having the peer educators present to her health classes. She was impressed by their ability to reach their peers and is excited to continue to have peer educators present the next two terms.

School Climate and Connectedness Survey (3rd-12th Grade, Families, Staff):

The School Climate and Connectedness Survey (SCCS) was administered in the spring and results were released in May 2022. 3,496 students responded to the survey in STEPS districts, an increase from last year.

*Note: These activities just reflect programming that did not fall into another solution. However, many other STEPS solutions contribute to positive school climates - such as culturally responsive schools, trauma engaged schools, and family partnership.

Data for this indicator is from the School Climate and Connectedness Survey. Most recent data and analysis was shared in our previous report.

All 6 partner school districts - Chatham, Hoonah, Hydaburg, Juneau, Sitka, and Yakutat - are engaged in school climate efforts. Community partners such as SAFV and AWARE (violence prevention programs), NAMI (mental health/ suicide prevention program), and Tlingit and Haida (regional tribal entity) also implement programming that aims to build strong relationships with caring adults, support healthy peer culture, decrease bullying, and engage families. In addition, all STEPS schools participate in the annual School Climate and Connectedness Survey.

While we report on Boys Run I toowu klatseen, Girls on the Run, and SCCS, most of STEPS’ school climate efforts really occur through other solutions such as Trauma Engaged Schools (see GPRA 2.1), Culturally Responsive/ Place-Based Learning/ STEAM (see GPRA 2.1), and Family Partnerships (see GPRA 9.2), although almost every solution implemented by the STEPS project aims to create and strengthen supportive learning environments.

Sitka did not implement any Girls on the Run teams in calendar year 2022 (the program was implemented in the fall of the 2021-22 school year and will be implemented again in the spring of the 2022-23 school year), which accounts for the low reach numbers in the above chart. However, overall numbers remain consistent by school year.

AASB filled the vacant School Climate Coordinator position in September. In addition to managing survey administration for the entire state, she has started working to support AASB’s process of creating a broader framework for school climate. This framework will serve to engage districts at multiple levels to connect strategies across areas and effectively utilize data for planning and accountability. Filling this position has also increased our capacity to provide workshops to districts on school climate. There are also plans to update the survey tool with input from school and community partner staff.