Edmonton Public Schools to launch student demographic survey to help inclusion efforts

Next month, Edmonton's largest school division will launch a student demographic survey that it hopes will better inform ways it can make classrooms more welcoming to all.

For the first time, Edmonton Public Schools will conduct a voluntary survey for students in Grades 4 to 12 to help accommodate student belonging and enhance their experience while at school.

Questions on the survey will ask students about their ethnicity, gender identity, racial identity, Indigenous identity and if they have any religious or spiritual affiliations.

Students in junior high and high school will also be asked about their sexual orientation.

Before participating in the survey, students will receive an orientation to help prepare them and answer any questions. The online survey will be filled out during class time, with division officials saying teachers will help ensure student privacy and to answer any questions.

Parents can opt-out of having their children participate in the survey.

The survey is expected to be completed between Nov. 1 and Dec. 16, with each school deciding when to administer it.

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"One of the things that we know is that not all students experience school in the same way," said Kevin Pharis, assistant superintendent of schools.

"Not all students experience success at school," Pharis added. "Not all students feel welcome at school. Those are all things that are really important to all of us as we work with the students we serve."

Two years ago, the Edmonton Public School Board committed to collecting race-based data to help address racism and racial discrimination within the division.

Nancy Petersen, Edmonton Public's managing director of strategic division supports, said the survey was developed after consultations with community members, staff, and students. The district also explored how other jurisdictions in the country collect demographic data.

Petersen added that student input from listening circles, the district's student senate and focus groups all indicated more needed to be done to recognize and integrate learners' different demographics and identities.

"Students are very eager to have an opportunity to share more about their identity," Petersen said. "They've just cautioned us that if we ask the questions, we better be prepared to take future actions that are going to ensure greater success for all students."

Schools will not have access to any collected data, Petersen explained. Once a student completes a survey, the data is sent directly to a secure district server with limited access.

"The information from the survey is going to be reported on and looked at on a division level," Petersen added. "That means we will be putting together the responses from all students who have participated into a dataset.

"We will not be looking at responses for individual students or individual schools," she said. "When we analyze the data, it will be analyzed in a cohort or a pool of data where all students have been put together."

While participation is voluntary, Edmonton Public is confident several thousand students will complete the survey.

Petersen said the district is following work Ontario schools have done. There, school authorities are required to administer a student census to identify gaps in student experiences and outcomes based on their diverse needs.

"We are working here in Edmonton Public to be responsive to the students and families we serve," she added.

More information about the survey is available to parents on SchoolZone and on the district's website.