That’s why this Salem-Kather School has the best sense of belonging in the area

Aspen McIntosh and Spencer Magann, students at the Salem-Keizer Vocational and Technical Education Center, said they liked the school because of the realistic opportunities they received.

The center educates juniors and seniors through hands-on learning of 10 professional courses. Plans include residential construction, car body repair and painting, beauty, and behavioral health and human services.

“(It) feels free to be your own person,” Marguen said.

In 2024, CTEC has the highest sense of belonging and belongs to all schools in the Salem-Keizer area.

Salem-Keizer Public School was the first Oregon school district in 2018 to measure students’ sense of belonging – an indicator of academic performance, participation, and mental health – as a key performance indicator.

Chris Moore, director of mental health and social-emotional learning at Salem Kellis Moore, said that belonging is the degree to which students feel accepted, respected and valued at school.

Students who lack a sense of belonging may experience poor participation, grades and attendance.

Moore said that when students feel they belong, they create a stronger community within the school, improve mental health and be more resilient.

Salem-Keizer measures students’ sense of belonging by collecting data on relationships with teachers, respect for peers, and how well they understand them.

But despite some progress, there is more to be done to meet the annual target.

As of 2024, students in grades 3-5 have been aware of being below their annual attribution goals, which has been increasing since the spring of 2022, but has been increasing since the spring of 2023. Students in grades 6 to 12 lower the annual perceived point of the annual attribution target, down by one percentage point, and down by two percentage points from the spring of 2023.

Salem-Kerill Public Schools’ sense of belonging

The district created its equity office in 2016 to figure out how to get students more involved in learning and improve their participation, performance and graduation rates as they noticed disproportionate results for underrepresented students.

In 2018, Salem-Keizer worked with Panorama Education, a Boston-based software company, to track students’ sense of belonging using its national benchmark assessment survey system.

“The kids in our community told us we need to do better and I think that’s really what brought us into that space,” Moore said.

For example, in the Panorama survey, students were asked to provide feedback on their experiences, such as what they wanted teachers to know so they could figure out how to better help students learn.

Since 2016, Salem-Keizer’s schools have increased the number of counselors, social workers and psychologists in the area while working with community agencies centered on mental health.

The region also works with affinity groups where people come together with a common goal or purpose to find ways in which schools can help them feel more representative. The area has also added club and community resource experts to work directly with the focus groups with students.

The implementation of the Affinity Group will help improve the sense of belonging for Pacific Islander students in 2024.

Candalaria Elementary School students have created a new cultural center to help improve the sense of belonging for minority students.

“It’s a district-wide effort,” Moore said. “It’s the job of every department and lives in every school.”

Salem-Keizer’s Vocational and Technical Education Center

With 10 years of experience working with teenagers and young people, including three years as a social worker for Salem-Keizer, Kelsie Wafer says that the sense of belonging for young people is a big indicator of success.

Weaver says that when students think they belong, it helps build trust and connection, which is the basis for getting the job done.

When trying to improve a sense of belonging, the challenge may be to get students out of their comfort zone, build confidence, and adapt to students’ constant changes in their perspectives, perspectives and routines, she said.

McIntosh and Magann said CTEC gives them a stronger sense of belonging because it makes it easier to connect with people.

The two attended McNally High School before moving to CTEC to join the new behavioral health and public service program that began the 2023-2024 school year. According to the region’s website, the program is committed to giving students “an in-depth understanding of the complexities of human behavior, mental health and social well-being.”

In a classroom at CTEC, posters cover the walls, including one of Maslow’s hierarchies of needs. Other posters focus on personal check-in and get help from anxiety, “stay here what you say here”.

McIntosh said her sense of belonging to CTEC helped her stay motivated with the support of other students.

When students feel safe and comfortable in school, they can focus on the course and participate in the work, Margo said.

Which Salem-Keizer schools show an improved sense of belonging?

In primary schools, Asian students and students with disabilities reported the highest sense of belonging in 2024. Local and Indigenous students, autistic and non-bisexual students reported feelings of belonging to belong 10 percentage points lower than other students.

Elementary schools that have improved their sense of belonging since spring 2023 include Highland Elementary, Keizer Elementary, four Corners Elementary and Bush Elementary.

In middle school, sixth grade students, autistic students, Pacific Islander students and speech/language needs students report the highest sense of belonging in 2024. Local and Indigenous students, students with emotional and behavioral disabilities, and non-binary students reported a report of belonging more than five percentage points lower than other students.

High schools that have improved their sense of belonging since spring 2023 include Stephens High School, Whitaker High School, Judson High School and Parrish High School.

How Oregon tracks belonging

The Oregon Department of Education began tracking the feeling of attribution data for 2020-2021 through the Student Education Equity Development Survey. The survey went through the pilot’s experience before it was conducted in 2023-2024.

Seed surveys gather information about students’ educational experiences, including their sense of belonging. The survey collected statewide data for grades 3-11 students.

When Housing Act 2656 came into effect in 2024, it took away the district’s options to offer students seed surveys and asked them to provide them. Students may choose to refuse to attend.

Seed survey is an ode to promote a sense of belonging. Others include:

• Ode’s transformative social and emotional learning frameworks and standards focus on strengthening an equity-centric school culture to support the well-being of students.

• The Community Care Development Program is committed to improving the mental health, education, and well-being of Oregon students and families through partnerships, emotional support, and response to physical and mental health needs.

• The Nursing and Connection campaign emphasizes nurturing a school community where students can build relationships and understand others at the beginning of the school year.

What is the awareness of belonging program in Salem-Kather Public Schools?

At the school board meeting at the end of 2024, Moore outlined the ongoing initiatives and next steps in the region. These include:

• The region launched its behavioral health coaching and training academy in August. Moore said more than 1,200 employees have visited the training so far this year and have received positive feedback from 98% of employees on their training experience.

• The region has launched its Meadowlark program for its behavioral health program at the Children’s Day Education Center. The next step is to expand the mental health treatment program to more students.

• CTEC students in the Behavioral Health and Public Services Program have begun coaching primary school students in the area. The next step is to expand it to primary schools in more areas.

• The district hopes to reimagine the school’s mental health services and is actively recruiting other providers. Their goal is to make all high schools available five days a week, four days a week in all middle schools and three days a week in all elementary schools.

• The region hopes that staff will continue to support cultural and affinity groups. The next step is to identify opportunities and resources to maintain and expand these plans.

Alexander Banks is an intern at the Politician Magazine. Contact him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared in Salem Politicians Magazine: The Salem-Kather CTEC Program has the Best Sense of Belonging