California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS)
News
School Climate Can Help Turn Around Low-Performing Schools
Positive School Climate Boosts Test Scores, Study SaysEdSource — 04/29/2013
Some schools are bright spots of academic success, consistently posting higher scores than predicted for the student populations they serve. How do these schools continue to outperform? A recent study by WestEd shows that positive school climate is one significant characteristic shared by outperforming schools.
School climate includes such factors as a school's order, safety, and discipline; supports for teaching and learning; personal and social relationships; and school connectedness.
"Improving school climate should help any school, but it particularly should be part of turning around a low-performing school," says Greg Austin, Director of the Health & Human Development Program at WestEd and a co-author of this study. "For low income communities with a lot of non-school problems, such as poverty, the research suggests that providing a safe, developmentally supportive school will help mitigate the risk factors."
Download the WestEd school climate study.
California Healthy Kids Survey Shows Children and Siblings of Deployed Military Personnel More Likely to Use Drugs
Children and Siblings of Deployed Military More Likely to Use DrugsMedicalXpress — January 18, 2013
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) used data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) to uncover a link between a child's likelihood of recent or lifetime drug use and the military deployment of that child's parent or sibling.
While the impact of a parent's military deployment on children has been widely discussed, the impact of a sibling's deployment has not been well understood. The USC research suggests that a sibling's deployment causes family disruption similar to that of a parent's deployment.
The research study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Health.
WestEd develops and administers CHKS for the California Department of Education. It is the largest statewide survey of resiliency, protective factors, and risk behaviors in the nation.
California Healthy Kids Survey Helps Berkeley High School Measure Progress
Drugs, Guns, Alcohol Use Down at Berkeley High, Survey SaysOakland Tribune — November 21, 2012
This year, the halls of Berkeley High School are safer for students. The reported rate of weapon possession has dropped by one third over the last two years, according to the latest California Healthy Kids Survey results.
In 2011, Berkeley High School had seven recorded gun incidents. In response, the district stepped up efforts to make the building safer, including hiring more monitors and increasing training for security guards.
While the improved survey results are encouraging, "it's not a reason to be complacent," says Berkeley High Principal Pasquale Scuderi.
WestEd develops and administers the California Healthy Kids Survey for the California Department of Education. It's the largest statewide survey of its kind in the nation.
WestEd Data Help Ventura County Paint Complete Picture of Child Well-Being
Ventura County Does Well in Score Card on Child Well-BeingVentura County Star — October 9, 2012
Every two years Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, builds a report card for child well-being throughout the county. Like most counties, Ventura's budget is tight, and they rely on public sources of data including the U.S. Census Bureau, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and WestEd.
The most recent report card shows that 73 percent of young children in the county are read to daily. The county also compared favorably to other California counties in various categories such as preschool attendance and math skills for seventh-grade students.
The count lags in some categories, as well, including the percentage of classrooms with high-speed Internet access.
California Healthy Kids Survey Helps Unite Reedley High School
Aiming for Friendlier RHSThe Reedley Exponent — September 19, 2012
Leaders at Reedley High School, near Fresno, California, saw data in their California Healthy Kids Survey results that they didn't like, and took action.
As school counselor Bernadette Sanchez says, "Kids didn't feel welcomed, and a large number of people felt left out."
Based on the survey data, Reedley secured a state grant to institute a community-building program in the school.
WestEd develops and administers the California Healthy Kids Survey for the California Department of Education.
Life and Health in a Low-Income Neighborhood
California Healthy Kids Survey Helps Document Poverty in HaywardHealthyCal — May 16, 2012
Life outside school greatly impacts what happens in the classroom. For the Jackson Triangle neighborhood in Hayward, California, life is particularly hard.
This article uses data from the California Healthy Kids Survey to document poverty in the Jackson Triangle neighborhood. WestEd develops and administers the survey for the state of California.
Jackson Triangle beat more than 200 other neighborhoods from 45 states to qualify for one of five "Promise" grants from the federal government. The $25 million, five-year grant is intended to address neighborhood issues that impact education including health, safety, and stability.
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