During the Oct. 23 Communities That Care meeting, Denise Continenza, CTC coordinator, showed some new data to the group.

The CTC members have been busy analyzing the data from the 2019 Pennsylvania Youth Survey. It was requested to have the information broken down by ethnicity to better evaluate which student groups need which type of services or attention.

According to Continenza, the new data was extensive and involved a great deal of work to sort through and organize into a cohesive, understandable report. She said she and a few others from the group are working to clarify the information to share with the group.

Jon Irons, Communities in Schools representative for Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, gave a glimpse into some of the new information learned from the additional report breakdown. He focused on just a few of the sections to explain how this data can be used.

One of the survey statements Irons focused on was, “People in my neighborhood are proud of me when I do something well.”

After breaking down the data by race and ethnicity, Irons reported the Hispanic student population reported strong “no” votes to this statement.

He noted the white population voted strongly in favor of this. He also reported the Black population numbers were about equal with the average.

This raised the question about how to measure neighborhood segregation and how some neighborhoods react differently to students.

Another factor Irons focused on was the number of students who reported feeling safe at school. He noted only 20.6 percent of students reported not feeling safe at school. However, the cross-tabbed data shows 30.7 percent of those responses were from students who identified as Puerto Rican. That was almost a quarter of all “no” responses. The Puerto Rican students made up less than 10 percent of the students who reported they do feel safe at school.

Irons also made sure to note the Hispanic student population reported a higher “yes” percentage than white students for the section titled, “Teachers notice when I do a good job and let me know.” He mentioned this shows the high resiliency of those students and a high level of support from teachers.

It was reported Irons, Continenza and others will continue to analyze the data through the new lens of ethnicity and race breakdown.

Whitehall High School counselor Chad Stefanyak questioned how to best determine what makes students not feel safe at school so the administration and teachers can address potential problems. It was noted a focus group with students would be helpful to determine those factors.

Irons reported he has recently started a focus group at WCMS with students of color to discuss representation and safety. He is including students from both cohorts to get an overall picture of the students’ perceptions and concerns.

It was agreed among the group they need input from students to gather answers. The survey data provided numbers but not reasoning, and the group wants to know why students answered the way the did.

While discussing what priorities to work on over the next year, group members agreed to continue with the same priorities. It was noted that, especially in the current uncertain times, being able to focus on familiar goals will be more attainable than setting all new ones.

The focuses are perceived low risk of drug use, with some clarification and specification; parental attitudes favorable toward anti-social behavior, such as social hosting; community opportunities for pro-social involvement and learning why many students don’t feel connected to their communities; and food insecurity. Specific areas of focus will include marijuana use and vaping.

Regarding the connection to community concern, Whitehall Township Mayor Michael Harakal Jr. noted he would like to see more intergenerational interaction. He reported seeing a lack of engagement between youths and the older generations. He wants to see older people reach out to the younger group to show they value the youths.

Stefanyak mentioned the younger generation is not as accustomed to face-to-face conversations, especially with people they don’t know. These youths grew up with technology as a primary form of communication, which could account for the difficulties communicating between generations.

Continenza, who also serves as president of Whitehall Area Rotary Club, reported the group is working on a program to recognize youths in the area.

The CTC next meets Dec. 11.