Cohasset High School Newsletter
News and Happenings at Cohasset High School
April 29, 2022
Dear Families,
I hope this newsletter finds you well and that you had a restful week with your students. This newsletter is a little different. It's a bit of a "state of the school" data sharing exercise that looks at the last three years of trends based on the data gathering processes we have in place.
It's a lot, but it's unedited and shared in the spirit of transparency. Some of the information has been discussed historically through School Committee and other vehicles, and some of it is new. The data is largely subjective, used to measure the students' experiences in school and their overall well-being, which I view as a critical foundation to any learning. To that end, the actual reports contain a lot of student and parent voice, captured through focus groups, which complement the more general information found in the surveys.
I have broken it down beginning with some background information on what we do and what decisions it drives, given individual summaries of the data in each tool used, and attached the full reports at the end of each section. I want to thank the CEF, PSO, and Safe Harbor for contributing to the funding in many cases, and to the efforts of the parent volunteers and especially Alisha Pollastri, who were so generous in giving their time and talents.
Overall I am quite pleased at what we have been able to accomplish given the myriad circumstances we've faced over the last several years. The ability to accomplish what we have is neither an accident nor is it the result of a few decisions of a few people, but a collective effort driven by a collective set of values that are aimed at continuously improving what our students are getting. It's not without challenge and there is more left to do for sure, but the more we engage in productive conversation, the more we can distill the data down into actionable steps that can continue to promote students who are fulfilled when they move on from here.
A few general observations:
Where we've made improvements
In 2018-2019, the largest concerns in the district were around safety, security, and communiation. Although inclusion and diversity was also an issue, it was more recently unpacked as a target area.
Since then, our most recent data show that Safety Rules and Norms, Sense of Physical Security, and Social Supports for Students were the three biggest strengths identified across all constituencies. This includes perceptions of safety during COVID.
Effective communication was up 39% from 47% to 86%. Respect for cultural diversity was up 22% from 55% in 2018 to 77% this year. Among black students, the number has climbed from 33% in 2020 to 91% (with 9% neutral) in 2022. And the top two self-identified strengths from students were trust and empathy, which provide excellent characteristics for confronting challenges from positions of strength.
Where we have more work to do
The above in encouraging for sure, but there is far more work to be done. While students identify positive relationships with peers, they also identify social-emotional security and social media as damaging. Exclusion, gossip, and what are often identified as engineered friendships sometimes going back to elementary school make students feel isolated and unable to branch out. Their inability to advocate for themselves in these contexts and stand up for others was identified as one of the biggest challenges.
The second largest challenge is around student stress, which is largely driven by both implicit and explicit messages to excel and a narrow definition of what that means, forcing students to be externally motiviated by grades more than internally motivated by learning. This leads to cheating, an unhealthy competition to take classes that students are not interested in, above their present ability, or which exceed their stress tolerance, and a daily schedule with little to no downtime. This finding parallells a national trend highlighted in the latest NAEP High School Transcript Study, which found that over the last 30 years, students are getting higher grades in more rigorously defined classes but with little evidence that that increased workload is improving actual preparedness for college and the workforce. You can read more about NAEP and the transcript study in this blog, which was shared by a parent. https://ies.ed.gov/director/remarks/03-23-2022.asp
These are big and systemic changes, but I share because they are important to the long-term success and well-being of our students.
Sincerely,
Brian T. Scott
Principal
A Brief History
Schools use data all the time to inform practice. The most common form of data is found in student assessments that are both formative (what does the student know in the moment and what instructional changes are necessary if the student does not understand the material) and summative assessments (what does the student ultimately know and can do at the end of the unit or course).
Statewide assessments like MCAS measure relative student achievement but were really designed to measure whether schools were using common curriculum towards a basic understanding of the state standards. AP scores are subject specific and can be used to demonstrate the ability to perform at a college level, and standardized test scores like SAT and ACT (which have been shown to demonstrate their limits and are being less and less weighted by colleges and universities) have traditionally accompanied college admissions packets. These assessments measure somewhat objective knowledge (and I use that loosely, as there are many ways of expressing knowledge that are not measured by testing).
Operational data also informs the learning environment, things like teacher evaluations and learning walks, student to teacher ratios, the amount of money spent per pupil, and graduation rates, much of which is publicly available.
Each of these has a role in shaping programming. But the data that interests me most is that which captures more subjective data, the skills and attitudes that underly learning and set the foundation for achievement. Because a student who feels that they belong, that they are valued and challenged, that is engaged in the learning -- that student will know no limits, whether it's calculus or carpentry.
Two major surveys alternate years. Over time they have taken various forms for various reasons.
The first is a survey on school climate and culture. We have used two in the past several years, the Institutional Climate and Inclusion Assessment (ICIA) and most recently the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI). This tool, described below, looks at 14 dimensions of school climate to assess student, family, and staff perceptions of essential areas that influence student learning and overall well-being.
The results of these surveys were unpacked in focus groups that included students, parents, staff, and community members. In addition, this year we included the Holistic Student Assessment (HSA) from Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR), a joint venture from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and McLean Hospital, which provides a self-reported "portrait" of the unique strengths and challenges of each student, that can be viewed at the individual, classroom or school level.
The second is a long-running version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a survey originally developed by the CDC to measure health-related behaviors in youth. Over the years in collaboration with the Cohasset Safe Harbor Coalition and Scituate FACTS, we have amended the survey to include protective factors annd questions unique to Cohasset. It is analyzed by an independent third party consultant using the Safe Harbor grant funds.
The first set of data measures the underlying conditions that inform student learning, the second measures how these underlying challenges might be manifesting themselves in unhealthy behaviors.
How we use it
Data culled from this information is directly tied to operational and instructional decisions. Some of the technical and adaptive changes over the last three years include:
- The creation of a Safe Schools Committee and Safe Schools Night, schoolwide ALICE training for students, security infrastructure upgrades, revised crisis planning and operational procedures;
- The development of a communications strategy and an increase in opportunities for both student and family voice;
- The addition of guidance counselors, adjustment counselors, and a social worker to better support struggling students; work with the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health to improve our BRYT program, which supports students returning from hospitalizations and other challenges;
- Improved tiered support practices, including the addition of a daily utility period to address student needs;
- A more robust relationship with Safe Harbor Coalition, joint student and family programming, more diverse students outlets like Ground Level Cafe and Student Ambassadors, and improved resources like the iDECIDE, a drug education curriculum developed to provide behavioral support and psychoeducation.
- Professional development around cultural competency, inclusive teaching practices, LGBTQ+ Safe Schools and trauma-informed teaching;
- Student programming (although more difficult during the pandemic) including a showing and panel discussion of The Hate You Give, Challenge Day, The ASA Anti-Bullying Tour, and TeenTruth; the addition of OneLove working in our health classes on healthy relationships; an increase in more diverse student groups; more community outreach through athletics; and interschool work between the high school and the elementaries;
- The creation of unique learning experiences through community partnerships like CSCR and Holly Hill, external programs like Technovation Girls, and the creation of internal programs like computer science and leadship studies.
This is all during and alongside of what was being done to manage the variety of needs during the pandemic. Specific trends are broken out below. As we continue to meet as a School Council, faculty, and district, this information will continue to shape programming moving forward.
School Culture
The most recent version, the CSCI, measures the following 14 dimensions of school climate:
Safety
(Rules and Norms, Sense of Physical Security, Sense of Social and Emotional Security)
(Support for Learning, Support for Social and Civic Learning)
Interpersonal Relationships
(Respect for Diversity, Social Support - Students, Social Support - Adults)
Institutional Environment
(School Connectedness/Engagement, Physical Surroundings, Social Inclusion)
Social Media, and
(For Staff) Leadership and Professional Relationships
(Leadership, Professional Relationships)
Going into the 2019-2020 school year, the biggest issues were safety, communication, and trust, and a general culture that lacked mutual respect and understanding, including peer aggression and bullying. The latest CSCI survey findings report the following.
Safety
According to the most recent CSCI Survey, Safety Rules and Norms, Sense of Physical Security, and Social Supports for Students were the three biggest strengths identified across all constituencies. This includes perceptions of safety during COVID.
Communication
According to the most recent CSCI Survey, 86% of families agree that the school makes an effort to inform families of what’s happening in school (10% are neutral and 4% disagree).
This is up from 47% as reported in the 2019-2020 ICIA Survey.
While these are promising improvements, in contrast, the two largest areas of focus were Social -Emotional Security and Social Media. The Social-Emotional Security scale focuses on the degree to which people feel safe in social-emotional terms. Questions on this scale probe experience and witnessing of verbal abuse, harassment, and exclusion. The Social Media scale measured the degree in which students feel safe from physical harm, verbal abuse/teasing, gossip, and exclusion when online or on electronic devices (ie: Facebook, Twitter, other social media platforms, by an email, text messaging, posting photo/video, etc.).
A presentation of the complete findings of the survey is attached below. The areas of focus identified above were further explored in both the PEAR survey, the TeenTruth student workshops, and the focus and affinity group work outlined below.
Focus Group Work Related to the 2019-2020 School Culture Survey
The 2019-2020 school culture survey (the ICIA) identified several subgroups whose experiences were quite different than the the majority of students. These included:
- Racial minorities, especially
- African American / Black students
- Asian students
- Historically underrepresented students, including Latinx and Hispanic students
- LGBTQ+ students
- Students with disabilities,
- Religious minorities, and
- Females
In response to the culture and community data reported in the ICIA, Cohasset contracted with Carla Pugliese, a trained educator and researcher and expert in working with individuals and organizations to build self-efficacy, develop social and emotional acuity, and create equitable communities of true belonging.
Ms. Pugliese conducted a series of 14 "affinity groups" with a variety of student populations who were identified as having very different experiences than those in the majority. The goal of the affinity focus groups was to identify specific challenges that a large number of students faced in terms of feeling connected, seen, and valued within the larger community.
She also conducted focus groups with faculty, staff, parents, and a more general representation of the student population.
The full report is attached below. Following a series of efforts to correct this, some of which are listed above, the latest school culture survey (the CSCI) found the following:
Culture and Community
Although social emotional security and student stress remain relative challenges, significant strides have been made despite more challenging circumstances.
Respect for cultural diversity as reported by students has grown from 55% in 2018 to 63% in 2020 and 77% in 2022 (with 19% neutral and only 4% disagreeing)
Among black students, the number has climbed from 33% in 2020 to 91% (with 9% neutral) in 2022.
TeenTruth
As part of our continued layering of faculty training, student programming, and data collection, we contracted with TeenTruth (https://teentruth.net/), a company focused on empowering student voice in education. Speaker JC Pohl, an award winning producer who has worked on film content for companies such as Warner Brothers, ESPN, and Disney, has reached over 10 million people worldwide. He presented to all students in assembly and conducted a student leadership workshop following.
The work of the leadership group (which encompasssed a wide range of students mostly in laedership positions) identified the same issues that our cultural surveys identified and gave more shape to what the findings mean. Specifically, the group identified several areas of concern, including:
- An unhealthy competitiveness that breeds division.
- Friend groups that are exclusive to other groups or exclusive within the groups, and a trend of manufacturing groups that goes back to elementary school.
- A lack of actual appreciation for diversity, and
- An unhealthy level of academic pressure and focus on grades.
It's important to note that this workshop was done entirely independent of anyone at CHS. The attached document below are their words, unchanged, and an interesting correlation to the affinity group work above.
Student Focus Groups
On Thursday, March 10th, 38 students gathered in the Learning Commons during lunch and utility to meet with parents and discuss the sources of student stress. The groups were coordinated by Alisha Pollastri, P'20, '25, Ph.D., the Director of Research and Evaluation at Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the focus groups were conducted by volunteer parents and community members.
The groups identified 7 themes:
Theme 1. CHS students are focused on the future; they hope that CHS will provide them with the skills they need to be successful after leaving high school.
Theme 2. Although homework helps students meet their goals for high school, most students reported that the amount of homework contributes to a problematic level of stress and leads to maladaptive behaviors.
Theme 3. Students are driven by external, rather than internal, reinforcement, which decreases overall motivation and contributes to schoolwork-related stress.
Theme 4. Academic pressure comes from many sources, and much of it is implicit.
Theme 5. The negative impacts of the Covid-19 shutdown and hybrid learning are still being felt by students.
Theme 6. The impact of schoolwork on student stress depends on the type of student.
Theme 7. Managing school-related technology taxes student bandwidth, negatively impacting workload and stress.
The full report can be found below, as well as a graphical representation of how certain conditions interact.
Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) Survey
The Holistic Student Assessment is designed to promote social-emotional development by drilling down into the specific student experience, providing both schoolwide portaits of strengths and challenges and individual portaits.
Students are asessed on three major areas:
- Resiliencies, which include action orientation, emotion control, assertiveness, perserverance, trust, empathy, optimism, and reflection;
- Learning and School Engagement, which includes learning interest, critical thinking, academic motivation, and school bonding; and
- Relationships, which includes both relationships with peers and relationships with adults.
Students are evaluated into tiered levels of support.
Overall the two greatest challenges that were identified were assertiveness and learning interest. Assertiveness here is more than just being vocal, which many of our students are. In this context it encompasses not standing out, asking for help, being independent or standing up for others. Learning interest reflects a true engagement in learning, as opposed to academic motivation, which was the desire to get good grades. Both offer a fascinating compliment to the voice given in the other surveys.
However, the #1 identified strength among students was trust, and among the top two in each racial subgroup, a significant improvement from 2019-2020. The female subgroup was slightly lower. The second highest strength was empathy. Both of these are strengths that future programming can leverage.
Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Finally, despite the significant rise in mental health challenges throughout the pandemic, the latest YRBS Survey (presented last May at School Committee) shows positive trends:
- Lower Rates of Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Behaviors in 2021 vs. 2019 (and well below state and national averages)
- Students had reported less stress and more sleep in 2021, a trend which may be reversing.
- A signficant drop in vaping, a trend which may also be in reverse, and
- Decreases in both alcohol and marijuana use in males (female use remained constant)
Next Steps
Check Out These Photos from Mr. Dan Leahy!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BCJGQLz9UyhGJF91A
Girls' Lax vs. EB
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UkozUFM85BPTcafd7
Boys' Tennis vs Middleboro
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7vowMH3f4TDjMUkh9
Baseball vs. Abington
Put a Pin in It
Dates to remember:
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Cohasset High School
Website: www.cohassetk12.org
Location: 143 Pond Street, Cohasset, MA, USA
Phone: 781-383-6100
Twitter: @CoHSPrincipal