In Spring 2023, 7-12 grade students completed the Authentic Connections Survey to gather data on students’ mental health and well-being as a proactive approach to national trends and our school’s commitment to educating the whole child. Below is a summary of the process and findings from the survey.
What are students facing nationally?
Students across the U.S. are facing a mental health crisis. Research suggests this mental health decline started pre-pandemic (American Psychological Association, 2022), was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, 2021), and continues to worsen due to isolation, increased social media use, and disconnecting from peers (National Association of Independent Schools Research 2021-2022).
Some Highlights From the National Mental Health Crisis
1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 in the US have reported a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder (Center for Disease Control, 2013)
From 2009 to 2019, the proportion of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40%; the share seriously considering attempting suicide increased by 36%; and the share creating a suicide plan increased by 44% (CDC, 2020)
Students have experienced more anxiety and depression since the pandemic (NAIS, Independent School Health Check, 2022-2023)
Teen girls who persistently felt sad or hopeless increased from 36% in 2011 to 57% in 2021, and teen boys increased from 21% in 2011 to 29% in 2021 (CDC, 2023)
Why is Porter-Gaud investigating this?
Porter-Gaud is committed to creating a welcoming, nurturing, and supportive environment where each student can reach their God-given potential. Our 2020 Strategic Plan reconfirmed this commitment to student wellness through our pledge to implement research-based programs and coordinated learning practices throughout the school that focus on the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness of students.
What action did Porter-Gaud take to research this?
Porter-Gaud partnered with Authentic Connections, a research-based organization with three decades of experience helping schools gather data on students’ mental health and well-being. After a thorough review process with PG’s staff and the Board of Trustees Wellness and Community Engagement and Belonging Committees, we administered the survey to 7-12 grade students in May 2023 to determine which aspects of school climate were most related to mental health difficulties and which themes are often mentioned as improvement areas. Please see the graphic for important survey demographic details.
What are the highlights for the Porter-Gaud community?
COMMENDATIONS:
PG’s student well-being index score (88%) is higher than the national average (83%). The well-being index is a combination of scores for anxiety, depression, rule-breaking, and substance use.
Overall, students are well below the national norm for anxiety, depression, and rule-breaking.
Students identified faculty academic support, academic rigor, and learning efficacy as strengths in their current learning environment as well as preparation for college and life after PG.
Students identified a high level of parental warmth and parent emotional engagement.
Faculty emotional support, the daily schedule, and athletics/extracurricular events were consistently identified by student narrative comments as areas of strength that supported their well-being.
Opportunities:
Students in grades 9-11 demonstrated significant levels of substance use above the national norm. The school has the opportunity to redesign the existing substance use programming and create a specialized preventive program in 9th grade as an entry point to the Upper School experience.
The students’ perception of “isolation at school” is consistent with the national trend and includes bullying, victimization, discrimination, and social media comparisons. Also consistent with the national trend is students of color and gender non-conforming students reporting higher rates of a sense of isolation at school.
Students identified parents’ behaviors (low consequences for drug and alcohol use, achievement pressure, criticism, and hovering) as factors negatively impacting their well-being.
The school has the opportunity to educate the greater PG community about the national mental health crisis and advance important conversations over the next three years, including the revision of existing programming and the implementation of new initiatives.
What are the next steps?
Porter-Gaud will continue to analyze survey results, assess the efficacy of existing programming, and research solutions to address areas of concern. Where needed, new research-based programming that aligns with our mission and values will be implemented and assessed on an ongoing basis.
Porter-Gaud will prioritize strategies to address the substance use findings. We encourage families in all divisions to partner with us as we facilitate discussions and bring experts forward with the goal of supporting the overall health and wellness of our students.
We invite you to further explore these survey results and share your input during one of our upcoming in-person sessions on January 30 (8:15 a.m.) and February 1 (5:30 p.m.) in Washington Hall.
If you have questions you would like to share before the in-person meeting, email surveyresults@portergaud.edu.
Also, we invite you to join our book discussion group of “Behind Their Screens: What Teens are Facing (and Adults Are Missing)” on Thursday, February 15 from 8-9 a.m. and Wednesday, March 13 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in Washington Hall. Click here or the button below to learn more and RSVP. We will also host an in-person visit from the author later in the spring.