NORTHEAST — A national survey taken by students shows that fewer local students have a positive sense of belonging compared to the national average, and more local students feel anxious and depressed than the national average.
The OurSchool survey reported that 76 per cent of North East School Division students in Grades 4 to 6 this year have a positive sense of belonging, compared to 86 per cent nationally. For those in Grades 7 to 12, it was 63 per cent, compared to 71 per cent nationally.
It also reported that 24 per cent of Grade 4 to 6 students had moderate to high levels of anxiety, compared to 16 per cent nationally, while for Grade 7 to 12, it was 25 per cent, compared to 18 per cent nationally. In the district, 23 per cent of Grades 7 to 12 students reported moderate or high levels of depression, compared to 18 per cent nationally.
“When you have this dataset, it confirms or dismisses some of the concerns we have,” said Don Rempel, the division's director of education, after the April 24 board meeting. “We’ve kind of sensed that kids may have higher levels of anxiety than they have in the past but now we can benchmark that across the country.”
As for the next step, Rempel said the division will make this a topic of discussion when it holds interviews between students and the board later this year to ask students about how they think the division should take action.
Luke Perkins, the division's chair, said the board will be keeping an eye on those numbers in the future.
