Pride Surveys’ Top 9 Blog Posts of 2019

As we close out the calendar year, we like to take a look back at the resources we provide our valued colleagues and clients. By taking some time to reflect on what people are engaging with we can learn from and focus on the things that are most important to you, our reader. The topics that our readers are most engaged in are issues that bring together students, the community, and the schools. The intersection of those three points drives discussion that can help all three understand each other.

The Top Most Visited Blog in 2019

Coming in at number one, Why Community Involvement in Schools is Important, was our top most-read blog post ever. It’s no surprise, as this blog details the three groups that collectively have the biggest impact on students’ futures, that of teachers, parents, and the community, and how the community, in particular, provides critical resources that impact the success of local students. Read on for easy ways to encourage community engagement and how to make community involvement a priority for your school.

School Survey Blogs

Blogs about surveying take up the next four spots on our list. These four blog posts, in particular, are about critical survey topics that have resonated with our readers.

School bullying is, unfortunately, an ongoing topic, and the blog All About School Bullying Surveys for Students identifies the purpose and goals of student bully surveys, what they measure, the right types of questions you need to be asking students, and the importance of these surveys. If you are experiencing a bullying issue in your school, we highly recommend you read more about this.

What part do parents and guardians play in identifying level of engagement, school life, safety, drug use and more? A huge part. The School Surveys for Parents blog post identifies what the parent surveys measure, the challenges with these surveys, the purpose they serve, and tips for better implementation of these crucial resources. Learn more about how to increase parental involvement and input.

We live in a digital age. How does technology impact surveys and their results? We dove into these important questions in the Online Student Surveys vs. Paper Surveys blog post. The analysis of the pros and cons of each type of survey implementation remains relevant. Read on to see what may be the best fit for your institution.

The fourth most-read school survey blog post this year was What is a School Climate Survey? These surveys measure the overall climate of schools and educate the teachers, faculty, and administration about how to use data-driven results to improve upon their schools. Learn more about what these surveys measure, why they are important, and the best ones for your school here.

The Importance of Positive Relationships and Engagement

Next on our list are three frequently read blog posts that focus on the importance of community, parent, and teacher involvement in students’ lives and how coalitions can and do improve communities as a whole.

One of the most important relationships that exists within the school system is that of the teacher and student. The blog post 4 Benefits of Positive Student-Teacher Relationships identifies ways these relationships promote academic success, help mitigate behavioral problems, help students develop improved self-worth, and how they assist the educators with their professional growth.

In addition to the relationship students have with teachers, the communication and partnership between teachers and parents are also instrumental to success. Tips for Strong Parent-Teacher Cooperation and Communication builds the case for why these relationships are important and how teachers, schools as a whole, and parents can help cultivate them. This topic is ever-evolving, and one we will continue to focus on in the coming year.

From a community engagement perspective, The Power of Youth Empowerment Programs in Communities post takes into consideration the invaluable impact these programs can have on students, examples of the various programs that exist, how to go about obtaining funding, and the data needed to back up the case for funding. Read more about these programs by visiting the blog post.

The Drinking Age in the United States

The final most-read blog we are focusing on is the long-debated legal drinking age. In the post The Drinking Age Debate: Pros and Cons of Lowering the Legal Drinking Age we analyze the pros and cons of keeping it as-is or lowering it, a topic that remains and will remain relevant for the foreseeable future. The back and forth on this issue has been simmering for a long time and the people debating it have been on both sides of the issue with the older generation remembering the drinking age being set at 18 and the younger having the age set at 21 since their birth. Regardless of your opinion, it’s an interesting debate.

If there are ways we can support your community or school next year or topics you would like to learn more about, please contact us.

Staying Power: How to Keep Your Community Coalition Healthy and Strong

“People overestimate what they can achieve in a year, but underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years” (attributed to Bill Gates and Matthew Kelly). For a coalition, it is no different.

Starting a community coalition can seem daunting at first and even once you get it going achieving your goals to reduce substance abuse or fight student homelessness can seem like an impossible task. You want immediate results, but the truth is longevity is the secret to success. [1]

For community coalitions, longevity is dependent on the ability of the coalition’s sustainability and to maintain all the essential components it established during start-up.[2] Here are some ways that you can remind yourself of the long term goals and not get bogged down In the nitty-gritty day to day operations of the coalition.

Create a Maintenance Plan for Your Community Coalition

A coalition can be quite complex, with many different people and policies to navigate through. Therefore, plenty of oversight and guidance is necessary to accomplish its tasks.      One of the hardest parts of maintaining community coalitions is recognizing the need for maintenance and deciding to proactively implement a plan. A maintenance plan is a plan where a coalition can break your strategy into smaller pieces and then set a schedule to review each piece to make sure that your goals stay on track and that the pieces of the coalition are all working like they are supposed to toward the overarching goals.

Design a Community Coalition Maintenance Plan

Working with various stakeholders is a key component of any coalition and building a maintenance plan is no different. Members must come together and work through the strategy of creating a plan. The overarching objective of the maintenance plan is to keep the core components of your community coalition fresh in order to constantly evaluate the goals shared by coalition members and to help keep members engaged in the process.[3]

Plan on regularly refreshing the following components of your coalition, which were established during start-up:

  • Mission – why are you a coalition?
  • Members – how are you engaging with your community?
  • Marketing – how are you reaching out to increase visibility?
  • Data – How are you tracking improvement?

 

These components, at a minimum, make up the foundation of your community coalition. Making sure that all of these parts are contained in a living document is important to your organization. Changes should be made as needed as your stakeholders come up with new ideas and processes that help in your overall mission.

Implement Your Community Coalition Maintenance Plan

Additionally, your plan should specify how you plan to enforce your maintenance standards. Document the following:

  • Who is responsible for each aspect of maintenance?
  • How often do you plan to refresh each component?
  • What processes must take place?

One common process to implement your maintenance plan is to conduct formal and/or informal reviews. Reviews are an excellent way to enforce your plan because they can be tailored to address the individual needs of your coalition and baked into the culture of your institution. You can perform reviews as often as you need to. You may find that as time goes on you move from a quarterly to a bi-annual or even annual review. Just make sure that they are often enough to keep your stakeholders engaged.

Secure Funding for Your Coalition

An essential component of any maintenance plan is to ensure that funding is available. Formalized procedures that protect the integrity of your community coalition should include plans to continuously secure funding. The most reliable and ubiquitous sources of funding are federal grants.

Federal Grant Funding for Coalitions

Depending on the scope and nature of your coalition, there are two ways to secure federal government grants. One of them is Grants.gov, the general federal website for securing grants for all types of organizations, including coalitions. The other is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website. It regularly updates a list of funding opportunities for recognized coalitions.

In order to be eligible for these federal grants, there are several specific requirements. To apply through the SAMHSA website for funding, your coalition needs to be registered with a Dun and Bradstreet Number, the System for Award Management, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. Once these steps are complete, you can apply for any grants that are applicable to your coalition.

Most federal grants are for terms of five years with terms to extend the grant up to ten years. The expectation of the DFC grant specifically is geared as a sort of start-up funding and once it expires they expect your coalition to be able to run on its own. One of the most common reasons that a coalition fails is that they run out of funding because they were not focused on creating the types of funding they would need while they were taking federal money. Fundraising should be a focus from day one.

Private Funding for Coalitions

In addition to federal grants, there are many private funding opportunities available. There are many organizations that work hard to connect coalitions to appropriate funding. Some examples include Public Health Funding, Community Grants Coalition, and more depending on the specifics of your coalition’s objectives.

Beyond grants, many coalitions partner with private companies and other NGOs that can provide funding in specific areas. It’s a new coalitions job to seek out these sorts of partnerships with companies that have philanthropic budgets that they can use. Grocery store chains, chambers of commerce, and others are good places to start when looking to secure funding for your community coalition.

Keep Your Community Coalition Going with Data

Every coalition needs data to fuel its work. May times data can be a good way to show a need for a coalition in the first place and can help you secure a grant. Think of it as a down payment or an investment on your coalition. If your coalition can prove through data collection that there is a problem to solve, you are halfway there.      This is where Pride Surveys can help your coalition grow stronger.

Check out Pride Surveys today to create your own survey to obtain data for your coalition. Our surveys allow coalitions to directly tap into the source for vital information, which helps drive the decision-making process for coalitions. If you’re in need of first-hand information, contact Pride Surveys today!

 

 

 

How Community Coalitions Can Help Prevent School Shootings

In the wake of the tremendous amount of gun violence on school campuses, many neighborhoods and communities have developed community coalitions to raise awareness about their factors and how to prevent school shootings. These coalitions strive to introduce critical connectivity and resources for students and parents who may be struggling with accessing support. 

Yet, building a strong community coalition is not always easy. Other community members may fail to see the need or use for such organizations or are embroiled in their own struggles to work with their students or schools. Nonetheless, coalitions remain a potent tool to help a community thrive by addressing specific problems or issues. Here are three reasons why community coalitions can help prevent school shootings. 

A community coalition is an organized group of community members who come together to achieve a common goal. When it comes to preventing tragedies, coalitions play an especially important role. Here are a few specific ways coalitions can help prevent these kinds of events:

1. Develop Resources to Combat Myths and Stereotypes

There are many misconceptions about school shootings and those who perpetrate them. For example, the media often portrays the school shooter as a male social outcast with social and family problems, who has become radicalized through contacts on the internet. However, the United States Secret Service notes that this is untrue and that no profile exists for a student attacker – they have been loners and popular kids, male and female, A-students and those who were struggling academically. [1]

Likewise, the latest research on media coverage of school shootings shows that such events not only advance these stereotypes but actively give a disproportionate amount of coverage to these events. [2] As a result, communities may be awash in misconceptions about school tragedies, and who is at risk for falling prey to the circumstances which may lead him or her to become a student attacker. 

Community coalitions can work together to combat these myths and stereotypes. By educating communities, teachers, parents, and students about the root causes of these shootings, it is easier to spot the circumstances which may lead to one. 

2. Create Opportunities for Student Engagement

In a study on the causes of school shootings, Wike and Fraser (2009) identified student engagement in school and the wider community as one of the key factors which successfully prevented a tragedy. In their study, they noted that no school attacker has ever demonstrated attachment to his or her community or school. [3]

Knowing this, community coalitions can work to create opportunities for student engagement both at school and in the greater community. They can work with schools to develop programs that connect the learning experience to the wider community, such as in the form of volunteering or fundraising. In turn, this can help students foster an improved sense of attachment and connectivity to the people and places around them. 

One such program is Bring Change 2 Mind, which was created to help erase the stigma around mental illness by increasing awareness and education, fostering student empowerment, building mentoring opportunities, and encouraging youth to challenge the misconceptions that so commonly surround mental health conditions. 

3. Provide Support for Students Who Need Help

Community coalitions are in a prime position to step in to provide support for students whose schools themselves may not be able to provide. With public schools routinely stretched thin, community coalitions such as those created by healthcare professionals can provide much-needed services, especially when it comes to mental health.  

A study on the collaboration between community mental health professionals and public schools found that school counselors overwhelmingly welcomed support from community members to provide critical support for students. This support can be in the form of monetary resources for after-school activities, or it could be something more direct as a collaborative partnership with mental health agencies in the area. [4] According to the study, when these resources were available, schools saw a dramatic decline in student mental health crises and an increase in the utilization of available resources.

Building Bonds and Community With Coalitions

Community coalitions are one way in which a community can come together to prevent school shootings and violence. By empowering schools and students with resources that are already available in the wider community, coalitions can help reduce many of the root causes which provoke school attackers to act. 

Tragedies like school shootings are impossible to predict so having a coalition working toward student engagement can be seen as a protective factor for the community at large and one extra tool that goes into a complete school safety strategy. 

Are you interested in building a strong coalition within your community? Get off to the right start with insights into what your community needs. Pride Surveys has over 30 years of experience conducting surveys in schools and communities. Contact us today. 

 

[1] “Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model” retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://www.secretservice.gov/data/protection/ntac/USSS_NTAC_Enhancing_School_Safety_Guide_7.11.18.pdf

[2] “Mass School Shootings in the United States: A Novel Root Cause Analysis Using Lay Press Reports” retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922819873650

[3] “School Shootings: Making Sense of the Senseless” retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.01.005

[4] “Collaborative Relationships: School Counselors and Non-School Mental Health Professionals Working Together to Improve the Mental Health Needs of Students” retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732694

 

Student Stress and Overload: How to Know When Students Are Stressed

Rigorous academic coursework is essential for student success in higher education, particularly in competitive and highly specialized fields. A challenging high school environment can encourage students to grow, develop coping skills, and learn how best to handle themselves in any situation. Yet, student stress remains on the rise at every level of education, driven by overload and leading to decreased academic performance.  

4 Signs of Student Stress and Overload

Like adults, teenagers may display stress in a variety of ways. Look for these four signs that a student has too much to do and not enough time to take care of him or herself. 

1. Poor Sleeping Habits or Appearing to Have Under Slept

A major Brown University study shows that teenagers display a biological disposition toward later bedtimes and rising times. [1] This is hypothesized to arise from shifts in the circadian rhythm which may occur as a result of puberty, a lack of access to sunlight, or even psychosocial factors that force students to remain awake later. 

According to an NIH study “Smartphone use in teens is another possible contributing factor in teens getting less sleep. Cellular phone use is emerging as an important factor that interferes with both sleep quality and quantity, particularly as smartphones become more widely available to teens.” (Adams, Daly, Willford)” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089837/

Regardless, sleep deprivation among high school students is very real. Stress creates sleep disturbances including conditions such as insomnia. Likewise, many teenagers already do not receive adequate sleep because of the early morning classes so prevalent throughout American public schools. A heavy homework load or particularly stressful test can be all that is needed to throw the precarious sleep cycle completely out of balance. 

2. Physical Health Problems

A significant body of research shows that stress and overworking has negative impacts on physical health. Chronic stress especially is associated with obesity and a variety of other health conditions in teenagers. [2] 

Physical health problems may also become exacerbated by poor health habits such as diets or a lack of exercise. Like adults, high school students may succumb to easy, convenient meals, excessive caffeine intake or even tobacco use. For example, it is estimated that 25.3 percent of high schoolers use tobacco. [3] 

3. A Lack of Balance

School itself presents unique challenges that adults often forget about. It’s not a stretch to view teachers in similar ways to how adults view a boss or manager. Imaging having between six and eight bosses which you see every day or every other day,  each with a different set of guidelines and levels of expectations you need to meet and each assigning you projects and scheduling meetings with no regard for the deadlines and work load being assigned by your other bosses. This is the reality of high school students, but instead of meetings and projects, they have homework and tests. When students are pushed to do hours of homework each night, it means less time to focus on other important aspects of health such as self-care, or time spent with friends and family. [4]

There are other signs to look for to identify students that are struggling to find a balance between their school and social lives. Look for students who seem to always study during their lunch breaks, who comment that they do not “have the time to do” something, or who seem to lack social connections or have any identity outside of constantly studying. 

4. Mental Health Challenges

Adolescence is marked by many neuroendocrine changes that manifest in the form of fluctuating hormones and many of the mystifying, if not annoying, behaviors associated with teenagers. According to research by the National Institutes of Health, the sensitivity of the maturing brain in addition to the fluctuating hormones mean that adolescents are prone to stress-related mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. [5] 

Take complaints about mental health seriously, and make a strong, concerted effort to engage with students and get to know them. Not all signs of stress will be easily evident but getting to know students will open up avenues for adults to see if they’re struggling or acting out of their normal behavior. Stress can have important short and long-term consequences for an individual’s mental health during adolescence, and detecting stress levels rising early in the process can be vital to solving its causes. 

Stress and Success in School

Many students thrive in the challenging, complex environment which a school can provide. However, it is also important to watch for signs of student stress and overload to help support students in their quest for academic excellence. When left unsupported, students suffering from chronic stress may experience performance issues that lead to academic decline, social and emotional troubles, and substance use and abuse. However, with the right support and resources, students can learn to manage their stress, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and thrive. 

If you’re wondering where your students stand, Pride Surveys can help. We’ve surveyed students, faculty, and parents for more than 30 years to help schools and community partnerships understand their students. Contact us today to discuss your challenges and the insights which a survey from us can provide. 

 

[1] “Adolescent Sleep Patterns, Circadian Timing, and Sleepiness at a Transition to Early School Days” Retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://projectneuron.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/U3_L8_Supplement_CarskadonEtal1998.pdf

[2] “Contributing Factors of Obesity Among Stressed Adolescents” Retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4324281/

[3] “Tobacco Use Among Children and Teens” Retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/tobacco-use-among-children.html

[4] “Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids’ Health?” Retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://www.healthline.com/health-news/children-more-homework-means-more-stress-031114#1

[5] “The Teenage Brain: The Stress Response and the Adolescent Brain” Retrieved 6 October 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4274618/

[*] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089837/

 

What Are the Common Strengths of Effective Community Coalitions?

Are you thinking of joining a community coalition or part of one already? Whether it’s to influence legislation or to spread awareness, effective community coalitions can be a key component in achieving shared goals.

Community coalitions push community advocacy to the spotlight, facilitate unusual alliances, and bring about cooperative change. As coalition members, you are collectively able to focus better on specific issues, keep problem-solving approaches consistently, and receive more positive results than if you worked by yourself.[1]

Like any large decision-making body, the effectiveness of a community coalition depends on many moving parts—from membership selection to information dissemination methods and beyond. Here are some common strengths of effective community coalitions.

An Active and Diverse Membership

If you separately have access to the same contacts and resources, then you’re not in a coalition but on the same team. Community coalitions thrive on members exchanging unique information for mutual benefit. The common goal must align, but beyond that, your strategic differences and varied representation may be more influential in the long run.

When your network becomes more successful within your individual spheres, you are more likely to stay active in your community coalition. More activity can lead to more progress and a new effective approach to community advocacy.

Engaged Leadership and Well-Defined Roles

Coalitions need heads or governing bodies that facilitate and encourage member participation, rather than act like bosses holding all the power. Strong community leadership has a direct influence on coalition sustainability, especially when funding becomes an issue.[2]

You should provide value to your coalition and have a well-defined role and a set of responsibilities you’re willing to take on. Properly utilized skilled members paired with skilled community leadership can result in higher levels of activity and participation.[3] Having rotating assignments, volunteer roles, or targeted task forces within the coalition can streamline this process. If the community coalition hires paid staff, their roles need to be clarified and they should not be expected to take on what should be members-only responsibilities.

Established Goals and Resources

Members must be aware of the coalition’s roadmap and objectives. Having a set of relatively smaller milestones to hit rather than just vaguely working to support community advocacy will make it easier to measure progress and effectiveness.

A growing master list of shared official resources—from funding options to unique professional expertise—make these milestones easier to achieve and celebrate, and can help make coalition tasks more manageable. The approach also ensures that you will be aware of how your personal plans intertwine with those of the community coalition over time.

Concrete Rules, Communication, and Collaboration

You need an agreed-upon system in place that works for everyone who conducts business. Rules also influence a coalition’s future acts and decisions. Predetermined policies can limit membership through set requirements, set schedules for meetings and deadlines for milestones, and establish how to deal with personal conflicts between members.

For the system to work, an efficient communication network is essential. This includes internal communication among members to foster a collaborative environment that can accelerate the pace at which the coalition moves through its roadmap, as well as information dissemination to the community being served.

Decisions More Than Discussions

Even the most strategic and structured community coalitions can stall due to placing excessive importance on consensus and considering community input. Both are important, but should not be placed above direct courses of action—even if the said course is a compromise. The key here is to have an equitable and transparent decision-making process that is respectful of the member synergy.

Community Awareness and Mobilization

Community coalitions that reach out to the people whose lives they are working to improve, especially those in community leadership positions, have a better chance of achieving success. Awareness at this level can lead to much-needed community mobilization, increasing collaboration instances that make for more efficient implementation of coalition programs.[4]

A mobilized locale that cares about community advocacy will be more able to help community coalition’s new resources and synergies they might not have considered before. Positive change within the community can be longer-lasting, as well, when community members feel empowered and able to engage in positive social acts that help communities change for the better.[5]

Pride Surveys has been a key ally for community coalitions around the world for more than two decades. Our customized surveys provide crucial insights into the emotional state of those surveyed. This information allows community coaltions to strategize and implement action items designed to achieve the greatest impact on those they’re seeking to help. Contact Pride Surveys today to learn more about what makes us such a trusted partner to community coaltions around the world.

[1] “Emerging Theories in Health Promotion Practice and Research: Strategies for Improving Public Health” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at http://iums.ac.ir/files/hshe-soh/files/EMERGING_THEORIES(1).pdf

[2]  “An Assessment of the Sustainability and Impact of Community Coalitions once Federal Funding has Expired” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/76601/rpt.pdf

[3] “Factors That Contribute to Effective Community Health Promotion Coalitions: A Study of 10 Project ASSIST Coalitions in North Carolina” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/109019819802500308

[4] “Increasing Coalition Effectiveness Through Community Mobilization” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/CDFS-12

[5] “Community coalitions as spaces for collective voice, action, and the sharing of resources” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcop.22096

 

 

 

Leveling Up: How to Ensure Students Are Prepared for the Challenges of High School

Many may consider the transitional challenges of high school to higher education as a critical moment, but what’s increasingly becoming more pivotal is what is sometimes known as the Ninth Grade Bottleneck.[1]

Even a relatively low dropout rate after junior high can be alarming. A high school diploma is a basic requirement for many jobs. In addition, the level and quality of academic achievement that students attain by eighth grade may have a larger impact on college and professional readiness than anything that happens during their high school years.[2]

As a community member, what can you do to increase the high school readiness of middle schoolers in your area and bring awareness around teenage substance abuse?

Have Them Participate in Academic Intervention Programs

Poor school performance is one of the most common reasons for having a difficult time adjusting to high school, sometimes leading to dropping out during ninth grade or the summer right after.

Academic intervention can be about filling in gaps in knowledge or compensating for learning difficulties, as is the case with programs like QuickSmart in Australia.[3] However, it may also focus on building better study habits and improving students’ outlook in life.

A support system-based approach may be particularly effective for certain communities. How engaged are the parents and guardians in your area when it comes to supporting the value of formal education? Multi-approach and family-focused intervention can improve grades along with lowering both dropout and teenage substance abuse rates.[4]

Make the High School Adjustment Period More Comfortable

New beginnings, especially in new places, can be tough and isolating. Ninth graders may feel out of place, on top of having to deal with more schoolwork than they’re ever done before.

Community initiatives may train guardians to help ease these burdens by putting together and labeling school supplies and books needed.[5] Teaching both guardians and students about planners or productivity apps for scheduling and studying may also be part of this.

Federal grant initiatives like the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs can help to foster school spirit and a sense of community in students.[6] The latter combines high school orientation with academic preparation and social events.

Offer a Variety of School and Extra-Curricular Activities

Providing many activity options for students to choose from is helpful to avoid student substance abuse concerns. Extra-curricular routines help students find places and groups where they feel like they belong, making school more fun and the challenges of high school less stressful. Even academic activities like competitions, conferences or workshops can be fun and character-building for the right kind of student.

Teach Accountability and Promote Independence

The seeds of accountability and independence are planted when community youth are taught self-monitored study and work habits. Nurturing better relationships between students and faculty and other school personnel is another piece of this puzzle. When students respect and accept teachers as authority figures, they are more likely to be diligent with assignments and test preparation.[7]

With a sense of responsibility should come trust and increased independence. Plan initiatives to prepare teenagers for challenges of high school, to make smart choices, to think of the consequences of their actions, and to manage their priorities.

Help Them Manage Stress and Anxiety

More than one in 20 children in the U.S. experience anxiety and depression.[8] It’s worth considering a general health program to promote sleep health[9], a good diet, and regular exercise to help lower stress levels and improve cognitive function.[10]

Research also suggests that untreated anxiety disorders early in life can lead to chronic anxiety and depression along with teenage substance abuse. Without initiatives to teach community youth how to cope with stress and seek help for mental health issues, student substance abuse may be inevitable.

A survey in 2012 states that more than 85% of U.S. high school students have classmates that drink alcohol do drugs or smoke during school days. More than 52% confirmed that these classmates could do so on school grounds.[11]

While Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs[12] can aid in preventing teenage substance abuse, it may be better for certain communities to focus on drug abuse education programs instead.

Preparing students to transition to high school is challenging. One of the most effective ways to help prepare students for this transition is to get insights directly from the source. Pride Surveys has surveyed students for more than two decades. We’ve developed customized surveys geared toward your specific community. The insights gleaned from these surveys directly leads to action plans. Contact Pride Surveys today to learn more about the surveys we offer and how we can help your community thrive.

 

[1] “The Ninth-Grade Bottleneck: An Enrollment Bulge in a Transition Year that Demands Careful Attention and Action.” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Ninth-Grade-Bottleneck%3A-An-Enrollment-Bulge-in-Wheelock-Miao/3429cad4a17ae3c4cca784021df3ae42a7cf2050

[2] “The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring That All Students Are on Target for College and Career Readiness Before High School” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/ForgottenMiddleSummary.pdf

[3] “QuickSmart: a basic academic skills intervention for middle school students with learning difficulties.” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17915495

[4] “Family-Focused Program Can Deter Dropping Out, Substance Use” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://psychcentral.com/news/2014/10/27/family-focused-intervention-deters-hs-dropouts-substance-use/76644.html

[5] “7 Ways to Prepare Kids for Middle and High School” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.education.com/magazine/article/kids-prepare-middle-high-school/

[6] “At-Risk High School Students in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness Program (GEAR UP): Academic and Behavioral Outcomes” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10935-006-0050-z

[7] “Keeping Students Accountable” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at http://www.nea.org/tools/54212.htm

[8] “More than 1 in 20 US children and teens have anxiety or depression” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180424184119.htm

[9] “American Academy of Pediatrics Supports Childhood Sleep Guidelines” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Supports-Childhood-Sleep-Guidelines.aspx

[10] “Childhood Nutrition Facts” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/facts.htm

[11] “National Survey on American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVII: Teens” Retrieved 13 September 2019 at https://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction-research/reports/national-survey-american-attitudes-substance-abuse-teens-2012

[12] “5 Ways to Incorporate SEL in Middle School” Retrieved 13 September 2019 a https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-ways-incorporate-sel-middle-school

 

 

 

Why Community Advocates Should Include Students at the Beginning

It takes a village to raise a child, the saying goes. To ensure the best outcome, that village should also include fellow young people, not just adults, which is why community advocates should include students at the beginning of their outreach programs.

Community coalitions are always looking to engage students in their area, but often this is transactional as opposed to collaborative. Sometimes that works out well, and the end goal is achieved (student engagement, a decrease in adverse behavior, etc.). However, this type of setup can often leave students feeling as though they’re being sold on something, rather than an ingrained aspect of it holistically.

Bringing students into the decision-making process before implementation seems like a no-brainer, but it’s not always the case. And study after study shows that if students are engaged and buy-in is achieved, positive results will follow. According to one study, “Student engagement in community advocacy activities that addressed environmental influences of cigarette smoking resulted in significant decreases in regular smoking.”[1]

By engaging students and younger generations at the beginning, community coalitions can tap into their enthusiasm to help create a positive change both within the younger community as well as the community writ large. For example, in Omaha, Nebraska, local leaders saw a drastic increase in obesity rates for a specific part of the city. One hypothesis posited that the community’s older generation might have entrenched eating habits and would be resistant to change, so it opted to bring in the younger generation to help create the necessary infrastructure to build a sustainable approach to healthier eating.

Childhood obesity is a major concern within the United States, but it’s especially a concern among the Latinx community. According to Dr. Gopal Singh, “In 2007, 16.4% of U.S. children were obese and 31.6% were overweight. From 2003 to 2007, obesity prevalence increased by 10% for all U.S. children but increased by 23%–33% for children in low-education, low-income, and higher unemployment households. Obesity prevalence increased markedly among Hispanic children and children from single-mother households.”[2]

The study found that this lack of infrastructure was a major impediment to changing the behaviors and outcomes desired, but by engaging students and the younger generations, it created the necessary environment for success down the road. “Our program generated infrastructure and materials to support the growth and institutionalization of youth advocacy as a means of increasing community readiness for addressing obesity prevention.”[3]

Students will actively take part in causes they feel personally invested in. Reaching out to younger generations and giving them a seat at the table at the beginning of community advocacy efforts goes a long way to create stronger bonds and a firm desire to succeed. Rather than relying on students and their peers to engage on the backend of these efforts, bring them into the mix and allow them to help shape what exactly those efforts will be.

Peer pressure is often viewed as a negative aspect of adolescent behavior, but it can work toward positive results, too. When students see their peers becoming part of an “in-group” for something there is a stronger desire to engage. That works with students playing sports, joining clubs, liking similar art, and, in some cases, taking part in advocacy work within their community.

“We argue that the involvement of children’s and adolescents’ peer networks in prevention and intervention efforts may be critical for promoting and maintaining positive behavioral health trajectories,” was how one RAND Corporation study succinctly stated.[4]

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of bringing students into the fold at the beginning of a community advocacy project is getting them in the door, literally. How can you speak to their interests and break through the noise when they’re being pulled in multiple directions all at once? How can you get students interested in your community outreach efforts? This is where Pride Surveys can help. At Pride Surveys, we’ve surveyed students for decades, asking them about their challenges, goals, and environment. We go directly to the source — the students themselves — and find out what’s really going on in their community. This data enables community advocates to better understand the problem areas students face and to better understand how to speak to those problems when attempting to get participation.

[1] “Effects of an Advocacy Intervention to Reduce Smoking Among Teenagers.” Retrieved on August 13, 2019 at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/485644

[2] “Rising Social Inequalities in US Childhood Obesity, 2003–2007.” Retrieved on August 20, 2019 at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S104727970900324X

[3] “SaludableOmaha: Development of a Youth Advocacy Initiative to Increase Community Readiness for Obesity Prevention, 2011–2012.” Retrieved on August 17, 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3523892/.

[4] “Influence of Peers and Friends on Children’s and Adolescents’ Eating and Activity Behaviors,” Retrieved on August 23, 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22480733/

What You Should Know Before Creating Community Coalitions

So, you want to create an effective community coalition to ensure your local area is a healthy environment where youth can thrive. Before embarking on this journey — one that will be difficult and stressful, yet immensely rewarding if successful — it would be wise to use the successes and failings of previous community coalitions to help guide you down the right path.

The pathway to a successful and sustainable community coalition can be informed by examples of previous efforts at creating effective coalitions. The first thing you need to know before creating a community coalition is what exactly a community coalition is and what it isn’t.

A coalition is an alliance of individuals and organizations, sometimes referred to as an “organization of organizations,” that come together to address a specific problem or issue and reach a common goal(s). Goals that focus on system-wide changes and collaborations and require a variety of expertise are particularly well suited for coalitions.[1]

Some things within that definition via the University of Kansas Community Toolbox require further examining. The “focus on system-wide changes” is one, while addressing a “specific problem or issue” is another. Often a community coalition doesn’t zero in on a single specific issue, nor does it seek to change entire systems. It’s better to be targeted and systemic rather than broad and supplemental. Having a clear vision — with a clear mission statement — is paramount for the success of any community coalition.

You Need Clear Objectives

“Once an organization has developed its mission statement, its next step is to develop the specific objectives that are focused on achieving that mission. Objectives refer to specific measurable results for the initiative’s broad goals. An organization’s objectives generally lay out how much of what will be accomplished by when. For example, one of several objectives for a community coalition might be, by 2020 (when), to decrease vaporizer use (of what) by %25 (how much) in teens in grades 9-12 who reported use in the past year.

Depending on what your objectives are, the groups you decide to partner with and the funding opportunities you choose to target will change. Your objectives will guide almost every important decision you make. The objectives will lead to the strategy which leads to the results. If you don’t have clear objectives, your strategy becomes muddled, and your results become difficult to realize.

You Will Need Partners

You must also identify potential partners. Remember, this is a coalition, not so much a cohesive team. You’ll need to bring in groups whose goals might align, but whose day-to-day activities may differ. Who would benefit from your stated goals? Who is in a position to help you achieve them? Also, you must identify whether or not your stated objective demands the creation of a coalition.

“It is important to note that a coalition is not appropriate in every situation and is only one of a variety of effective tools for accomplishing organizational goals. A lead agency should consider carefully the responsibilities of developing and coordinating a coalition. The success of a coalition is usually uncertain. In addition, lead agencies tend to underestimate the requirements needed to keep coalitions functioning well, especially the commitment of substantial staffing resources.”[2]

There Will Be Barriers

“Coalition organizers may face a range of problems when attempting to work together with a diverse group of organizations and personalities. Organizers should anticipate these problems and be prepared to address them before they become barriers to a coalition’s success. These problems should be considered in the context of a specific community.”[3]

Obviously, resources will be one major barrier, especially human and monetary capital. Before creating a community coalition, you must have a clear-eyed perspective on the amount of capital your organization will need to sustain and thrive.

When thinking about standing up a community coalition, make sure there’s space for one. Are there competing organizations or coalitions? Can you partner with them rather than competing with them for funding? Securing funding is difficult. That should be obvious, which means any time organizations compete with one another for the same pool of funds, feelings can be hurt, which doesn’t help anyone who either coalition seeks to help as that competition may lessen the desire to work with one another down the road.

“The first step in forming a strong working group is to provide concrete examples of how coalition stakeholders might benefit from working together. Organizers should provide specific examples of funding opportunities that would only be available to a coalition and review the benefits listed above tailoring them to the specific characteristics of their community.”[4]

Our Data Can Help Inform Your Coalition

At Pride Surveys, we know how hard it can be to stand up a coalition and sustain it. We’ve been working to help educate community leaders about precisely what’s going on in their student communities for more than 30 years. The data our surveys collects can help coalitions leverage support from stakeholders and be used as a baseline for grant funding as well as a tool to increase awareness in the community. Having access to this data can be vital for the long-term success of your coalition. If you’re looking for tangible, actionable data directly from the youth community in your area to help strengthen your grant applications, contact us today and we’ll discuss what surveys your community can benefit from, and what data is most important for your potential coalition.

[1] “Coalition Building I: Starting a Coalition,” Community Tool Box: Part B, Retrieved on August 12, 2019 at http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/

[2] “Developing Effective Coalitions,” Prevention Institute, Retrieved on August 12, 2019 at https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/eightstep.pdf

[3] “Building Effective Coalitions,” Retrieved on August 12, 2019 at https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/BuildingEffectiveCoalitions.pdf

[4] Ibid

How Students Can Lessen School Stress

A competitive classroom emphasizes individualistic learning, though it can also help cultivate school stress. Students absorb material individually. Teachers test and quiz them, evaluating their performances with letter grades and percentages. Competition has its benefits. It can motivate students to try harder. It can also help students prepare to embrace real-life challenges and, on occasion, cope with failure. Teachers also receive clear, reliable, and quantitative data for evaluating students. In particular, it allows teachers to identify and address individual problems more efficiently. Academic competition, however, can be taken too far, and it can have negative consequences for students.

Competition can become a more or less constant feature of the school environment. Students are already under pressure with high school grades, standardized test results, and extracurricular activities dictating college admissions. With recent educational initiatives such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core, testing becomes an ever-present feature of the school experience. Students are either taking tests or, with individual teachers and schools being evaluated by the results, preparing to take them. There are legitimate concerns about prioritizing test preparation at the expense of intrinsic learning and subjects such as art or current events. But always-competitive classroom environments may be exacerbating teenage stress.

Stress in school has become a major issue affecting a large percentage of students. An NYU survey found that 49 percent of high school students overall and 60 percent of female students perceived they were under a “great deal of stress” daily.[1] In an APA survey, American teens incredibly reported higher stress levels than American adults.[2] Chronic stress can lead to serious mental health issues. Depression among students appears to be on the rise. The rate of major depressive episodes reported by teenagers increased by 37 percent from 2005 to 2014.[3] Managing the interplay between stress and school can require a holistic effort from students themselves, parents, and schools.

Students can take essential steps on their own to help manage their stress. Maintaining good health can be an excellent way to relieve stress. Getting regular exercise and eating a nutritious diet are important factors. Avoiding smoking can also cut down on stress. Contrary to its portrayal in popular culture, smoking can ratchet up feelings of anxiety and tension by reducing the production of serotonin. Teenagers also need adequate downtime. That could be something formal like meditation, or just ensuring they take regular breaks from schoolwork and other organized activity. Sleeping the right amount can also be imperative. Teenagers need about 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep per night.[4]

Parents can play a vital role in this process too. Parents can reinforce stress-reducing habits for their children via simple steps such as serving healthy food or limiting screen time. A particular concern for parents is making sure their children do not become overscheduled. Burdening them with lessons, sports, and activities at all hours may round out a college application in theory. In practice, though, it can leave children with little time for rest and essential unstructured development. Parents can also model healthy behavior in their own lives. Children often develop stress-handling habits by observing the relationship between their parents and stress.

Schools can take impactful steps to help parents and students with stress. Some limits on the sheer amount of homework students receive may be helpful. In a survey of high-performing high schools, students reported receiving more than three hours of homework per night.[5] Students that spent more time on homework in that study reported greater stress. While homework has benefits, the optimal amount of it, according to one study, may be significantly less than is being assigned, about 90 to 100 minutes per night.[6] Homework started to lose its effectiveness beyond that point.

Movement can also help alleviate student stress. Teachers can encourage students to move around the classroom for activities. Schools can ensure that students receive a sufficient recess period and resist cutting that period short to devote more of the school day to tested core subjects.

The most important step for parents and teachers may be observing students, keeping open lines of communication, and listening to their concerns. Children are not adults. They may be feeling severe effects from undue stress in their lives without the language to express the problem or even the conceptual framework to recognize that something is wrong.

It can be difficult getting honest answers to difficult questions from our students. This is one of Pride Surveys’ strengths. We’ve surveyed students for more than 30 years, enabling decision-makers, parents, and community leaders to gain vital insight into their thinking, concerns, and emotional state. If you’re interested in using our surveys to help better understand the students in your area, take some time to browse all that we offer. If you have any questions, or you would like to know more about our process and why our surveys have been utilized for three decades, contact us today and we’ll be happy to discuss your challenges and the potential solutions Pride Surveys can provide.

[1] “A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance abuse among high school youth in private schools.” Retrieved 18 July 2019 at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01028/full

[2] “American Psychological Association Survey Shows Teen Stress Rivals That of Adults” Retrieved 22 July 2019 at https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/02/teen-stress

[3] “National Trends in the Prevalence and Treatment of Depression in Adolescents and Young Adults.” Retrieved 18 July 2019 at https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/6/e20161878

[4] “Sleep Disorders in the Older Child and Teen” Retrieved 19 July 2019 at https://my.clevelandclinic.org/ccf/media/files/Sleep_Disorders_Center/09_Adolescent_factsheet.pdf

[5] “Non-Academic Effects of Homework in Privileged, High-Performing High Schools” Retrieved 19 July 2019 at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220973.2012.745469

[6] “Adolescents Homework Performance in Mathematics and Science: Personal Factors and Teaching Practices” Retrieved 19 July 2019 at https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/edu-0000032.pdf