Kidsdata Advisory, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health

Highlighting new and noteworthy data from kidsdata.org
The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health | May 19, 2010

Just Added: Bullying, Gangs, School Safety Data for School Districts Statewide

Feeling safe not only plays a crucial role in students’ overall health and well being, it also is vital for their learning. While the majority of California youth report feeling safe at school, about 7 percent of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade boys say they have been bullied at school four or more times in the past year because of their race/national origin, and more than 1 in 20 say they have brought a gun to school. These and other key measures of adolescent safety, from data on bullying to gang involvement to school safety, now are available on kidsdata.org for school districts across the state.

These youth safety data come from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), a statewide survey of students that was developed and is administered by WestEd for the California Department of Education. For districts statewide, data are available by grade, gender, and race/ethnicity, as well as students’ feelings of connectedness to school, which is strongly correlated with these measures of adolescent safety.

Find School District-Level Data on Bullying, Gangs, and School Safety

Bullying & Harassment: View Data for All 18 Indicators | Selected Facts

Gang Involvement: By Gender & Grade | Race/Ethnicity | School Connectedness | Selected Facts

School Safety: View Data for All 15 Indicators | Selected Facts

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Key Facts About Kids in California

Between 50 and 60 percent of 7th, 9th and 11th-graders said they felt safe or very safe at school, according to 2006-08 data.

In California, the most common reason cited for bullying was due to race or national origin, with about 15 percent of females and 20 percent of males in 2006-08 reporting at least one bullying incident in the past year based on race or national origin.

About 11 percent of boys in grades 7, 9, and 11 considered themselves gang members, with 6-8 percent of girls reporting the same in 2006-08.

In California in 2006-08, about 8% of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade boys said they had brought a gun to school at least once in the year prior to the survey, and 3% said they brought a gun to school four or more times.

Use These Data in Your Work

Kidsdata.org is a public service that expanded in fall 2009 from the Bay Area to all cities, counties, and school districts in California. You can use these data, as well as related measures of child and youth safety and emotional and behavioral health, in reports, presentations, proposals, advocacy work, program planning, and other efforts. Data on more topics will be phased in over the next several weeks.

Help Spread the Word

Kidsdata.org is designed to benefit everyone working on behalf of children and youth in California. To help others learn about this valuable resource, you can:

Forward this note to your colleagues and friends.
Help raise the profile of children in your community by adding a link and facts from kidsdata.org to your organization's website or newsletter. You even can link directly to data for your community.

Also Available from Kidsdata.org

Commentary & Questions: Data Points Blog | Your Data Questions
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Kidsdata.org: Home Page | How Kidsdata.org Is Being Used

Kidsdata.org is a free, public service sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, which is dedicated to raising the visibility of children’s issues in California.