School Culture Survey

The DSBN School Culture Student Survey is an anonymous online survey that provides you with an opportunity to provide your input on the school culture. It also fulfills the Ministry of Education requirement that all schools in Ontario implement a school climate survey for students every two years.

This year our student survey include questions that focus on:

1. Well-Being
2. Caring and Safe Schools
3. Sense of Belonging
4. Equity and Inclusion
5. Teaching and Learning

Building a positive school culture requires a collective commitment where the voices of students, families and school staff are essential. This is why we are asking students in Grades 4-12, along with their families, to share their voice by completing the School Culture Survey.

Student and family feedback from the survey will have a direct impact by guiding and shaping the necessary steps needed to improve school safety and student well-being, while strengthening relationships, and building an inclusive school culture where everyone feels valued, respected and included.

1. Students in Grades 4-12 who learn in-person
2. Families with students in Grades 4-12 who learn in-person
3. DSBN in-school teachers and support staff

This is an opportunity for you to have a voice on things that matter to you at your school. Responses will provide your school with valuable information that will be used to improve schools and enhance the teaching and learning environment. By participating in this survey, your feedback will help your school plan their next steps to promote a safe and inclusive school environment. While you are encouraged to complete the survey, you will not be penalized in any way if you choose not to participate, and you may also skip any question that you do not wish to answer.

No, formal consent from parents/guardians is not required for the student survey.

No, this survey is voluntary, but we invite students to participate to make schools better. If you do not want to participate, you do not have to. If you do choose to take the survey, that’s wonderful and we can’t wait to hear from you! If you start answering questions and you want to stop participating, you can choose to stop at any time. Also, you can select ‘prefer not to answer’ if you do not feel comfortable answering. While you are encouraged to complete the survey, you will not be penalized in any way if you choose not to participate.

No, this survey is anonymous and confidential and does not ask for your name so your answers cannot be connected to you. Answers will be combined and displayed together so no one will ever see individual answers.

Students will be invited to fill out the online survey during designated class time. The survey should take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers – you should answer based on your views and experiences. If you require accommodations to complete the survey, a plan will be created to support you in completing the survey.

Families will receive an email from their school administrator that will include the online survey link and their school code. Families will also be able to access the online survey through your school website. By entering your school code, families will be invited to fill out the online survey. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers – you should answer based on your views and experiences at your child’s school. If you require accommodations to complete the survey, a plan will be created to support you.

There are no risks associated with participating in this survey. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, there is a ‘prefer not to answer’ option. Once you have completed the survey and feel like you want to talk about some of the questions, you can reach out to your teacher or another adult you trust for support or the Kids Help Phone line (kidshelpphone.ca or 1-800- 668-6868).

Your answers will be collected and shared with your school principal. Your answers will be anonymous and confidential, as the data will be collected and displayed together.

This information will be gathered and organized in a report that will be shared with the school principal.

Results will be used by the DSBN to:

• Guide decision-making for school planning
• Specify areas of growth and strength at your school
• Set collective goals to support an inclusive school culture and enhance student success

The information in this survey allows schools to look for trends in school success and well-being related to identity (such as race, ethnicity, etc.). Collecting identity-based data is important for evaluating how well our programs, resources and practices support all DSBN students. It will also help us identify the groups of students being underserved so that we can improve programs and services for the benefit of all students.

Indigenous Ancestry

• This question specifically refers to Indigenous peoples within Canada
• This question is asking if students have First Nations, Metis, and/ or Inuit ancestry
• Students may select multiple responses if more than one apply

Ethnic Origin

• Ethnic origin refers to a person’s ethnic or cultural origins. Ethnic groups have a common identity, heritage, ancestry, or historical past, often with identifiable cultural, linguistic, and/or religious characteristics
• There are many options provided to answer this question. They are listed alphabetically. If students do not see themselves reflected in the selections provided, they may type their response in the box provided

Racial Background

Race is a social construct that groups people on the basis of common ancestry and physical characteristics. Race is often confused with ethnicity (a group of people who share a particular cultural heritage or background), but there may be several ethnic groups within a racialized group.

• If students identify as biracial or have multiple backgrounds, they may select multiple responses
• If students do not see themselves reflected in the selections provided, they may type their response in the box provided

Languages Spoken at Home

• There are many options provided to answer this question. They are listed alphabetically. If students do not see themselves reflected in the selections provided, they may type their response in the box provided
• The languages listed are the most common languages spoken at home in the District School Board of Niagara
• “Indigenous languages” refer to languages spoken among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples

Religion or Spiritual Affiliation

Religion refers to an individual’s self-identification or affiliation with any religious denomination, group, or other religiously defined community or system of belief and/or spiritual faith practices.

• Religion is a held set of beliefs. It is linked to a person's identity, self-definition, and fulfillment
• Students can indicate the religion/spiritual affiliation with which they personally and/or their family identify
• Indigenous Belief System refers to the spiritual beliefs and practices that Indigenous peoples identify as being customary among Indigenous peoples in Canada
• If students do not see their religious affiliation listed there, there is an opportunity to write their own

Gender identity

From the Ontario Human Rights Code: “Gender identity is each person’s internal and individual experience of gender. It is their sense of being a woman, a man, both, neither, nor anywhere along the gender spectrum. A person’s gender identity may be the same as or different from their birth assigned sex. Gender identity is fundamentally different from a person’s sexual orientation.”

• Students may select all gender identities that they feel apply. If they do not see themselves reflected in the selections provided, they may type their response in the box provided
• If students do not understand these topics, teachers may ask the students to re-read the question or the teacher may read them aloud. If the students are still unsure, the teacher may suggest that students select one of three options provided: Not sure, I do not understand the question or I prefer not to answer. Students can also write in their own answer in the specified open‐ended box

To accommodate students with varying exceptionalities, the survey can be completed using voice recognition software such as Google Read & Write. If you have concerns about your own access to technology to complete the survey, require support with language translations, or require other accommodations, please contact your school. A plan will be created to support you in completing the survey.

Yes, this survey is entirely anonymous and confidential. Individual responses will be confidential and no individual student or family will be identifiable in the sharing of the results. Reports will not identify a student or family and will only contain summaries which will provide understanding of school community needs.

We respect the privacy of our students and families and we strictly adhere to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). MFIPPA is the provincial legislation that establishes responsibilities of school boards to protect personal information that is collected, used, retained, disclosed and disposed of.

• The online survey data will be collected using a secure web server
• Student names will not appear on the completed survey
• Processed paper copies will not include any information that will identify an individual student
• Once all responses have been received, the data will be sent to a secure, external company contracted by the DSBN for data analysis. The data will only be accessed by authorized DSBN staff to identify and summarize trends among DSBN students. Individual questionnaires will not be analyzed
• All data will be stored in a secure, confidential database. The retention and disposal of data will be according to the DSBN records retention schedule

The Ontario Human Rights Commission encourages the collection and analysis of identity data for the purposes of: identifying and removing systemic barriers; preventing discrimination; and promoting equity and inclusivity.

Collection of identity-based data is supported by human rights legislative framework, including the Ontario Human Rights Code, and Section 15(2) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.