Every Student Counts Survey
The Every Student Counts Survey is a student census that was conducted in late 2018 in every York Region District School Board school. In 2020, the Overall Board Results were released. During the summer and fall of 2021, data from the Every Student Counts Survey will be released in a series of themed research reports.
The ESCS follows Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan and Ontario's Anti Racism Data Standards to identify and eliminate systemic barriers to student success, create more equitable and inclusive school environments, and improve student achievement and well-being. This series of research reports is the result of a comprehensive community engagement. Learn more about our approach to reviewing the data and developing the reports.
Mental Health and Well-Being
View Report: Mental Health and Well-Being (PDF)
The Mental Health and Well-being Themed report underscores YRDSB’s continued commitment to human rights, equity, anti-racism and anti-oppression, particularly in connection to providing safe, caring, welcoming, healthy and inclusive schools to improve the learning outcomes and well-being of underserved students. While a range of data are used to support students by monitoring systemic impacts on student experiences and outcomes, this report focuses on the self-reported mental health and well-being of students at YRDSB, emphasizing the 2018-2019 school year when the ESCS was administered.
Findings from the ESCS Mental Health and Well-being Themed Report 2018-19, shows that:
- Overall, students’ emotional well-being decreased considerably by grade panel.
- Students in Grades K-6 and Grades 7-8 reported higher rates of feeling happy, good about themselves, positive about the future and mattering to people at school all the time or often compared to students in Grades 9-12.
- There are noticeable differences between the percentage of students who reported having negative emotions all the time or often in Grades 7-8 and Grades 9-12 compared to students in Grades K- 6.
- Although the York Region District School Board’s Mental Health and Addiction Strategy, program development and service delivery processes have a strong foundation in an anti-oppressive social framework, findings from the ESCS Mental Health and Well-Being report points to disparities, that is, inequities, in student experiences and outcomes based on socio-demographic characteristics including, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, Special Education Needs (SEN), exceptionalities, and program of study.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020-21 school year resulted in several school shutdowns and stay-at-home orders for students and families, which may have significantly impacted students’ mental health and well-being since the administration of the 2018-19 ESCS. We will be learning more about this through student and family climate surveys administered in the 2020-21 school year.
Drawing on findings from the ESCS 2018-19, the aim of this report is to prompt critical dialogue that will contribute to positive change for students who experience such inequities at an individual level and, as a result, have historically been underserved, with the intention of better serving these students.
To address these inequities YRDSB will:
Director’s Action Plan goals focus on raising the learning outcomes, well-being, and sense of belongingness of students who are underserved and underperforming. More specifically, Goal 1 – Foster Well-Being and Mental Health, states: “Build safe, healthy and inclusive learning and working environments where students and staff feel they matter and belong.”
The two student-level key actions associated with this goal are:
1.1 Provide learning opportunities and resources to prioritize and support the mental health and well-being of students and staff by focusing on creating caring communities and understanding anxiety related to trauma.
1.2 Partner with identity-specific mental health organizations to develop supports that respond to the needs of racialized students.
To support the learning outcomes and mental health of students and remove barriers to meaningful education that create inequities for groups of students, we will:
- Implement the ABCs of Mental Health Lesson Series for K-12 (Acknowledge, Bridge, Connection). The series is designed with an anti-oppressive framework, which identifies and challenges oppressive ideologies such as pathologization, universalism, and deficit thinking.
- Place the individual student at the centre of our actions.
- Ensure active family and student voice in the proactive planning to support students.
- Enhance the Family Mental Health Newsletter 2021-22 editions with emphasis on tips for families and encouraging dialogue with schools in efforts to provide accessible communications for families (e.g., encouraging participation in web events, and drop-ins for families and youth).
- Provide culturally relevant and responsive mental health care and education.
- Centre intersecting social identities for students in affirming practices in programming, services and supports.
- Continue to build collaborative relationships with external organizations and agencies that provide culturally, racially, and linguistically relevant mental health services.
- Enhance and extend student leadership for mental health initiatives in tandem with student leaders and other stakeholders.
The Director’s Action Plan goals focus on raising the learning outcomes and mental health and well-being of students who are underserved and underperforming. This aligns with the Ministry of Education’s Learning for All, which outlines that “assistance targeted at a specific group can help everyone”. When we focus on raising the learning outcomes and well-being of students who are underserved and underperforming, all students benefit.