At Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District, we believe student voice matters. Our students experience our schools every day, and we can only continue to grow and improve when we hear directly from them about what is working, where they need additional support, and what will help them feel more connected to their school community.

Student connectedness is a key priority in our District Strategic Plan, with a goal of increasing school connectedness by 5% each year. To reach this goal, we must first understand how our students experience school and where we can improve. The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) gives students a meaningful opportunity to share their voices and provides our district with valuable feedback to guide our efforts and measure our progress.

What is the California Healthy Kids Survey?

The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) is an anonymous and voluntary survey administered in schools across California. It gives students an opportunity to share their perspectives about important areas of their school experience, including:

• School connectedness and sense of belonging

• Relationships with peers and trusted adults

• Social-emotional wellness

• School climate and safety

• Opportunities for student involvement and engagement

Why Does This Survey Matter?

We cannot improve the student experience without hearing directly from our students. CHKS gives students a voice and provides our district with valuable information about how they experience school.

The results help us identify what we are doing well and where we need to grow. Most importantly, student feedback helps us turn their voices into action by guiding decisions about programs, services, resources, and opportunities for students to become more involved in leadership, clubs, athletics, and extracurricular and co-curricular activities that build school culture and strengthen belonging.

Because increasing school connectedness is part of our District Strategic Plan, CHKS results also help us measure our progress toward our goal of 5% growth in school connectedness each year and identify where additional efforts, supports, or resources may be needed.

Student Privacy Matters

CHKS responses are confidential and reported only in summary form. Individual student responses are not identified or shared. The purpose is to understand overall student experiences and trends while protecting the privacy of every student.

Turning Student Voice Into Action

CHKS is more than a survey—it is an important part of our continuous improvement process. The information students provide helps our schools and district:

• Identify strengths and areas for growth.

• Measure progress toward our annual 5% school connectedness growth goal.

• Strengthen programs and supports that promote safe, welcoming, and engaging schools.

• Expand meaningful opportunities for student voice, leadership, and involvement.

• Make decisions about resources and services based on what our students tell us they need.

• Inform school improvement efforts, district priorities, and Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals.

Why Your Support Matters

Parents and families are essential partners in this work. By allowing your child to participate in the California Healthy Kids Survey, you are helping us hear from the people who know the student experience best—our students.

Every student response helps us build a clearer picture of what our schools are doing well and where we can do better. Together, student voice, family partnership, and thoughtful use of data allow us to create schools where students feel safe, supported, valued, heard, and connected.

When our students speak, we listen. When we listen, we learn. And when we learn, we take action to build stronger, more connected schools.