Coachella Valley Unified School District
Mental Health Survey Report July 26, 2021 By Rocio Aguayo Policy and Research Director
Introduction Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), a faith based nonprofit community organization in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (the Inland Empire) works directly with youth/students from Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) to transform and revitalize their communities by advocacy in civic institutions. This survey was created to get to know how CVUSD students' mental health has been affected through the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to find ways to provide needed support for student, students came up with the questions and surveyed their peers between March-April 2021. A total of 66 students participated.
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Questions & Responses Q1: Has the pandemic affected your mental health? 86.4% Yes 3.6% No
Q2: Has school taken a toll on your mental health? 78.8% Yes 21.2 % No
Q3: Has this negatively impacted how you work and your grades? 63.6 % Yes 36.4 % No
Q4: If your mental health has been affected by school and/or the pandemic, have you tried to reach out for support? 37.9 % Yes 62.1 % No
Q5: If you wanted to reach out for help right now from your school, would you know how to? 34.9 % Yes 65.1 % No
Q6: If you have gotten help from the school before, do you feel like it helped you? Was it effective? 4.5 % Yes 21.2% No 57. 6% I have not reached out for help 13.6 % Somewhat
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Questions & Responses Q7: Please share your experience from the last response: Common answers: The Counselor is never available. The Counselor was not helpful.
Q8: Are you aware of the mental health resources your school provides? 22.7 % Yes 15.1 % No 62.1 % Sort of
Q9: Have you taken advantage of the mental health resources offered at your school? 13.6 % Yes 86.4 % No
Q10: Share how this mental health resource was/wasn't helpful. Common answers:
The resource was not helpful because the counselor was not available to help me. I didn't know about the resource. It was helpful because I was able to talk to someone when I needed it most.
Q11: Do you feel mentally prepared to return to in-person school? 48.5 % Yes 51.5 % No
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Questions & Responses Q12: Share why you feel mentally ready or not ready to go back to school? Common answers: I am not ready to go back to school because of social anxiety. I am ready to go back to school because I'm tired of being at home. I am ready to go back to school because my grades dropped during distance learning and I know in person learning will help me do better. I am ready to go back because I miss my friends.
Q13: What are some mental health resources you would like to see available at school, or what are some improvements that need to be made? Common recommendations: Designate a space/room where students can de-stress Hire therapists to counsel students outside of academic counseling Group Activities for stress relief Dedicated classes/ workshops for mental health
Q14: Would you and your peers benefit from having a mental health center (wellness center) within your school? [i.e. having a mental health professional on campus available at all times] 92.2% Yes 7.8 % No
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Conclusion Participants feel that their mental health was impacted by COVID19 and overall the academic shift to distance learning. In addition, the majority of participants shared that they aren't aware of the mental health resources the school district offers and they don't know how to access the resources. The small percentage of participants who knew how to access the resources and utilized them felt that the counselor was not accessible and was not effective in helping students. Participants are divided about wanting to return to in person learning because many have developed social anxiety, don't want to be home, miss their friends, and/or want to do better in school after they have struggled with distance learning. Furthermore, participants want a designated space/room where students can de-stress, therapists to counsel students outside of academic counseling, group activities for stress relief and dedicated classes/workshops for mental health. Lastly, particpants agree that they would benefit from having a mental health center.
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