Spring is the perfect time to start student wellbeing screenings for several reasons. For most educators, springtime is when state standardized tests occur, with time spent getting students ready for the test, then conducting the tests over several weeks.
Additionally, spring means that the end of the academic school year is quickly approaching. While many educators await the end of another year and look forward to summer, there is also anticipation for the new school year ahead.
The research is clear. Student wellbeing is a crucial component to effective learning. Studies from CASEL highlight the practical benefits of SEL and student well-being programs. Included in those findings are that about 27% more students would improve their academic performance due to SEL programs, and 24% more would have improved social behaviors and lower levels of distress.
Universal screening can start your school or district on the path to this type of success by providing actionable data to address student needs, proactively respond to risks of absenteeism, and implement broader interventions and initiatives that support students at school.
Warming up to well-being screenings
Here are three reasons why you should start universal screening for student well-being in the spring:
1. To contribute to the success of your district or campus improvement plan: Campus improvement plans identify ways to improve student achievement, increase school district capacity, and improve performance in each component of school district effectiveness. Data from universal well-being screenings can provide insight directly from students to help identify the areas the campus improvement plan needs to focus on in the coming year.
2. To plan for staff professional development: A good universal screener will provide data from the district level down to the individual student level, allowing administrators to easily identify those areas that will need special attention from the district. This allows administrators to build relevant staff professional development for the coming school year to address those areas.
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PD planning can be much more intentional, focusing on areas where students in the district most need support. And since much of that PD planning takes place in the summer, having that data available in the spring allows administrators to take action, using the data in conjunction with academic, behavioral, and attendance data to plan relevant, targeted, summer PD.
3. To get an indication of what students will need in the new school year: Data from spring universal well-being screeners helps educators gain an understanding of the needs of the students who will be in their classes in the coming year. They can identify which students should be on their radar and determine how they can set them up for success.
For example, what are the needs of students coming into middle school? What activities will school counselors need to do to prepare to support these students? How can the information be used to create interventions across Tier 1, 2 and 3. This data can also be instrumental in creating class rosters, small groupings, and more.
Data from universal well-being screeners helps district staff use their time wisely to prepare for the coming school year, knowing they are focusing on areas where students are indicating they need some help.
Measuring the effectiveness of well-being programs
It’s important to remember that spring universal well-being screeners also can help measure the effectiveness of student well-being programs. If students have already taken a universal screener in the fall, their teachers likely already identified the ones who needed student support initiatives and areas of concern for smaller groups and the district as a whole.
By administering a screener again in the spring, educators can see how the interventions and supports they’ve implemented have impacted students. What has been working? What programs might need some adjustments? Are there individual students that need extra support beyond these programs?
Even if educators have not administered a universal screener with students in the fall, spring survey data will provide a good temperature check of current programs, allowing the district to determine where they need to focus to start creating a positive school climate.
