PAYS survey has paid off for students

The PAYS survey was started in 1989, according to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which administers the survey statewide every two years.  It was most recently given to Milton High School students on Nov. 11.

According to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s website (pccd.pa.gov), the PAYS survey questions students in sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grades about behavior, knowledge and attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco, drugs and violence.

The survey also collects information about what children think about their school environment, the website said.

The district’s leadership team is in charge of making informed decisions after they view the results, said Co-Principal Mr. Michael Bergey.

“The Panther Pantry is a direct result,” said Mr. Bergey. The results of a past survey showed kids were not getting enough food, he explained.

“Data from the survey is an essential component of successful grand writing and can be used to leverage resources to help meet identified needs,” stated the website.

The survey is not mandatory for students, Mr. Bergey said. adding that the district does encourage participation.

In 2019 over 280,000 students across 1,144 schools took part in the PAYS survey, according to the PCCD website.

The state doesn’t direct the school to do anything with the results of to the survey, said Mr. Bergey. It is just a decision the district has made, he said, adding that the district does not get any money from the state as a result the survey.

There have been some years the district decided not to do the survey, said Guidance Counselor Ms. Leslie Robinson. Some parents and teachers were “freaked out” by some of the questions being asked when they first started doing the survey, she said.

In the past the school has shared the results with the faculty, she said.

Milton has been doing the survey for 10 to 15 years off and on, said Ms. Robinson. But they have been more consistent over the past several years, she explained.

Milton Area School District has decided to do the survey because they use the information to see what things are needed in the school, she said.

“We are trying to take whatever information we can get to see what the community needs,” said Ms. Robinson.