DJUSD conducts Youth Truth Student Survey

PHOTO: Davis High students take the Youth Truth Survey on Nov. 16.

By Max Davis-Housefield,

BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–

Davis Joint Unified School District is once again be conducting the Youth Truth Student Survey. Every school site will take the survey sometime between Nov. 1 and 19.

Davis High students took the survey on Tuesday Nov. 16 in their third period classes. The survey takes between 30 and 35 minutes to complete.

According to Kate Snow, the district coordinator for school climate activities, the survey will ask questions about school climate, academic rigor, feelings of belonging and support and social and mental wellbeing among other things. Snow says that this year, there is a new section for student voice.

The district has been taking the survey since 2016, and the administration uses the data to make decisions about how to best support students. It also helps counselors look at mental health needs, and helps the district put an emphasis on certain areas of social/emotional learning.

“I think it’s been very effective in many ways,” Snow said. “One is that it helps ground our policy and program emphasis on the reality that students describe, not the one adults see. That is part of the move for students to have more power and agency in how this district operates.”

Despite being tied to a unique login ID, the survey is completely anonymous.

The ID provides additional demographic data, but student responses remain unconnected to their names. The district can only look at the broad data, not at individual student responses.

“The more honest [students] responses [are], the more able the district will be to make changes that would benefit them as well as anyone who’s marginalized,” Snow said. “We need all the information we can get so that we can think well about how to be a place [where] everyone can succeed and thrive.”