Resilience Surveys

COVID-19 has triggered unique and dynamic issues affecting the mental health of students, parents, faculty, and the entire school community. Given the uncertainty and disruptions created by the virus, it is crucial to meet challenges responsively in order to foster resilience. To help schools support their communities, NAIS is encouraging school members to use two new surveys launched by Authentic Connections: The Student Resilience Survey (SRS) and The Faculty Resilience Survey (FRS).
 
Authentic Connections (AC) is a team of leading researchers, clinicians, and consultants focused on improving mental health in school communities. Grounded in decades of research on child psychology and resilience, AC’s services center on surveying students and faculty on issues impacting their mental health, distilling key insights, and jointly creating plans to improve well-being. NAIS is working with AC to produce critical research and practical strategies to improve student health and well-being outcomes for members. Findings from the new Faculty Resilience Survey will extend our service to members, helping pinpoint key stressors for teachers and other educators and evidenced-based approaches to reduce them.
 

How Can Schools Use Survey Results?

Mental illness is expected to be the “next wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic; participating schools can proactively reduce risks among their students, using scientifically valid assessments and recommendations from these. Action plans tailored to their own communities will be delineated to:
  • Refine best practices for student emotional support among faculty, staff, and administrators.
  • Increase quality of supportive interactions between faculty and students.
  • Enhance emotional and learning support for student groups who are especially vulnerable.
  • Sustain and enrich interaction among peers and feelings of community belonging.
  • Modify distance-learning instruction approaches to adjust to new challenges.
After implementing such action plans from AC’s prior assessments, students have shown not only reductions in anxiety and depression but also greater positive connections with faculty and the school community as a whole.
 

Student Resilience Survey (SRS): COVID-19

Logistics
  • First administration free
  • ~15 minutes, administered online
  • Results delivered in ~8-10 days
  • Designed for students in grades 6 – 12
  • Survey opt-out form provided
  • Best used after at least one week of distance learning
What Your School Receives Student Resilience Survey:
  • Targeted survey, specifically assessing measures of student well-being (i.e., anxiety, depression) and modifiable aspects of student life most relevant to the current climate (i.e., feelings of connectedness, learning efficacy). Please note that results will not be personally identifiable; they will be shared only in the aggregate.
SRS Report with Interactive Dashboards:
  • Measures of student well-being with the ability to view data by demographic variables (such as grade, ethnicity, among others)
  • Distilled insights from qualitative responses to open-ended questions on student concerns, areas in which the school is doing well, and potential areas for improvement
  • Top focus areas for improving resilience, including best practices from research, insights from other schools, and suggestions from students
Results Debrief:
  • One-hour discussion with the AC team to review results and discuss recommendations
 

Faculty Resilience Survey (FRS): COVID-19

Logistics
  • First administration free
  • ~15 minutes, administered online
  • Results delivered in ~8-10 days
  • Applicable to all school faculty
  • Best used after at least one week of distance learning
What Your School Receives Faculty Resilience Survey:
  • Targeted survey, specifically assessing measures of faculty well-being (i.e., burnout) and modifiable aspects of life most relevant to the current climate (i.e., feelings of connectedness, teaching efficacy)
FRS Report with Interactive Dashboard:
  • Measures of faculty well-being, with the ability to view data by demographic variables (i.e., school role, number of years employed). Please note that results will not be personally identifiable; they will be shared only in the aggregate.
  • Distilled insights from qualitative responses to open-ended questions on faculty concerns, areas in which the school is doing well, and potential areas for improvement
  • Top focus areas for improving resilience, including best practices from research, insights from other schools, and suggestions from faculty
Results Debrief and Ongoing Support Groups:
  • One-hour discussion with the AC team to review results and discuss recommendations
 
 
To learn more, please contact Nina Kumar at nlkumar@authconn.com.

If you need additional supports related to COVID-19, visit our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for Independent Schools page.