By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s Social Emotional Wellness Committee surveyed Costa students in all English classes on Feb. 1 in order to study the root causes of student stress at Costa. The online survey was a proactive and necessary method of acquiring student feedback that can be used to effectively implement initiatives that will relieve student stress.
The SEW Committee consists of a variety of Costa students, parents and staff members whose goal is to reduce stress. To achieve this goal, the committee conducted its first-annual Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences, an online survey that gathers middle and high school students’ perspectives on different areas, such as homework load, extracurricular activities, sleep, physical health and stress levels.
According to Challenge Success, a nationwide organization whose goal is to create more balanced and academically fulfilling lives for students, the survey results help guide schools in deciding which policies and practices are effective and which are in need of improvement. Therefore, the survey is a valuable resource in helping the SEW Committee determine which initiatives have been successful and which have not so that it can determine how to properly relieve student stress.
The survey also focuses on areas such as parent and friend expectations, according to the Challenge Success website. This is important because parents and friends often set standards that students feel that they have to live up to. It is crucial for the committee to recognize the pressure the South Bay communities places on students in order to devise strategies that will effectively reduce stress.
According to a La Vista survey of 200 students, 89 percent of students said it answered all of the questions on the wellness survey honestly, providing the committee with reliable data on the subject. Thus, the SEW Committee will be able to implement changes that are the most necessary for students, ultimately helping reduce student stress and fulfilling the committee’s goal in the most effective manner.
Challenge Success will analyze the survey results from Costa students and send the data back to the committee in about six weeks from the survey date, Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board President Jennifer Cochran said. It is advantageous that the results are gathered within a timely manner so that the changes can begin to be put in place as soon as possible.
Check out photos of questions from the Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences here.
The committee will then use the survey data along with feedback gathered from other committee initiatives, such as the Fishbowl activity, where students shared their experiences with sources of tension to analyze the root causes of stress at Costa. Then, the committee will determine the most urgent problems and take the next steps in implementing changes, she said. This will benefit the students because the most common causes of stress will be alleviated.
Last year, the SEW Committee similarly worked to integrate stress-relieving measures for students. However, according to the La Vista poll, 73 percent of students believes that the past initiatives such as Shadow Days, where adults follow a student around campus for a day, as well as the Fishbowl activity, have only been partially effective in decreasing student stress.
The lack of decisive success of the past measures highlights the fact that the SEW Committee must put as much effort as possible this year to integrate successful and effective suggestions aimed at reducing student stress. The SEW Committee’s strong desire to get accurate responses and perspectives from students is a great first step toward properly helping to reduce stress on campus.
It is imperative that the Social Emotional Wellness Committee acquires useful feedback on student stress so that it can work toward implementing initiatives that will help reduce it.
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