• PARENT/GUARDIAN NOTIFICATION OF PARTICIPATION IN THE BIG SPRING ELEMENTARY RESILIENCY ASSESSMENT

    Dear Parent or Guardian,

    The Big Spring School District, in partnership with Terrace Metrics, Inc., is proud to provide an innovative assessment service to students and families. This assessment is designed to examine the social/emotional strengths and needs of participating students in grades 3-12.  If your student is accessing classes via livestream and you would like them to participate in the assessment, please contact your school’s counseling office.  This consent form will describe the purpose of the service.  You can also view the following video as well:

    https://www.terracemetrics.org/consent-form/

    What are the Benefits of the Survey? 

    Research shows that schools play an important role in raising healthy children through the measurement and teaching of social emotional skills.  Data from this comprehensive assessment tool gives us the ability to flag students who may be in need of additional support. Further, we would be able to identify students with strong social-emotional development.  In addition, the data will help us design, implement and evaluate small group interventions that address specific student needs, as well as opportunities for students to enhance their personal strengths. Most importantly, this tool allows us to examine the needs of the WHOLE STUDENT, in combination with academic and other non-cognitive data.

    What Should I Know as a Parent or Guardian?

    • First, only students who have parent permission are allowed to participate in the assessment. If you wish to have your child participate, you must complete the online consent form by April 7, 2021. 
    • Second, the data is de-identified, that is, all scoring and coding of data is done using student ID numbers. Your child will not enter any personal information when completing the assessment.
    • Third, only designated members of our school’s response team (e.g., counselors, school psychologists) will have access to your child’s individual report. Teachers will not have access to individual data.
    • Fourth, the assessment is not a diagnostic tool, and no information from this assessment will be placed into your child’s education file. The purpose of this service is to inform us of how each student is functioning within specific resiliency/risk indicators. 
    • Fifth, you will receive a customized, easy to follow report of your child’s results, along with specific recommendations that correspond with the findings.
    • Sixth, the school will not allow the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information (or otherwise providing that information to others for that purpose).
    • Finally, the tool itself is brief (approximately 10-15 minutes).

    This marking period, your child will have the opportunity to participate in the mid-year administration of the survey.  The following areas may be assessed, as determined by your child’s grade and wishes of the school and school district:

    Grades 3-5

    While schools can select all indicators noted above, the following are typically administered to younger children:

    • Global Life Satisfaction:  Overall assessment of feelings and attitudes about one's life at a particular point in time, ranging from negative to positive.
    • Positive School Experiences: Assessment of a student’s experiences with their learning, as well as their overall interactions with school personnel.
    • School Victimization Scale: First presents a definition of bullying so that students understand what/what does not meet criteria.  Definition has been framed so that students as young as grade 3 can understand.  Student is then asked if they have been victimized, or have victimized others during the current school year. The scale assesses frequency of different types of victimization (e.g., physical, social). 
    • Social Ostracism Scale: Items reflect being ignored by others.
    • Children’s Hope Scale: Assesses goal-directed thinking in which the student has the perceived capacity to develop strategies to reach goals (pathways thinking), and the motivation to use those strategies (agency thinking).

    Our response team members will receive individual student reports immediately after the student completes the assessment. They will then review each report to determine the next steps for each student.  If there are any concerns regarding your child’s responses, a member of the school’s response team will contact you by phone to discuss next steps.  As a reminder, student reports will not be shared with teachers; only authorized response team members will have access to that information.

    Remote (at-home) Administration

    The Big Spring School District may use the system for students who are accessing their education via livestream.  You will be notified should your child be chosen to complete the assessment at home. In brief, this is what will occur:

    • You will be notified of the date and time that your child will complete the assessment. At the scheduled time they simply need to be in front of a computer (desktop or laptop) or portable device (iPad).
    • Your child will then access the online platform used by the Big Spring School District
    • A parent or assigned guardian must be visually present prior to the proctor (who will be present during the administration) prior to administration.
    • Once online, the proctor will send your child a message to their school email. If your child does not have an email, the proctor will provide them with a specialized code and instructions on how to log into the assessment site.
    • After the proctor reads the instructions, your child can begin. The proctor is available should your child have any questions.
    • The response team will receive individual student reports immediately after the student completes the assessment. If there are any concerns regarding your child’s responses, a member of the school’s response team will contact you by phone to discuss next steps. 

    If you wish to have your student participate in the Big Spring School District Resiliency/Risk service, you must complete the Online Consent Form indicating your permission by March 31, 2021.

    Online Consent Form