Transforming Schools Statewide: Using Data to Enhance Social-Emotional Learning

The Colorado Education Initiative partnered with YouthTruth to incorporate student feedback surveys as a core element of Youth Connections, a four-year project spanning 13 districts. With a focus on student voices, the goal of Youth Connections is to design and implement responsive systems addressing all components of a social-emotional ecosystem.

YouthTruth and other feedback surveys provide the initial lens of assessment. Students answer questions aligned with the core components of the social-emotional ecosystem, such as:

• Empowered Students: “I feel like I can make a difference in my school.”
• Systems of Support: “When I’m feeling upset, stressed, or having problems, there are programs or services at my school that can help me.”
• Learning Environments: “Most adults in this school treat students with respect.”

This vital feedback is assessed alongside other system indicators like attendance, discipline records, and participation in clubs and extracurricular activities. Empathy interviews and focus groups with students who face the greatest barriers to feeling connected, supported, and engaged provide an even deeper dive into the social-emotional needs of Youth Connections students. Together, these elements create a comprehensive system of feedback to inform goals and programs at each school site.