The Upstream Project is Coming to RBHS!

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Dear Families,

Below please find information about the Upstream Project survey our students will be completing on November 6. If you consent to your student’s participation in the survey, we thank you and there is nothing further you need to do. If you want to opt your student out from completing the survey, we sent an opt out form via Talking Points and the SPS School Info App. There is also information below about ways you can opt out.

Purpose of The Upstream Project

Rainier Beach High School is implementing the Upstream Project with SE Network, a local non-profit partner. The Upstream Project aims to provide better and earlier supports and resources to students and their families who need them. The main goal is to help prevent homelessness and school dropout. Chapin Hall, a nonprofit research center, is assessing how the program works.

Purpose of the Opt-Out Form

This document provides information about the project and related activities, including a research study assessing the program. Participation in the Upstream Project study is voluntary. You have the right to opt your child out, and you may use this form to do so. If you are okay with your child’s participation in these activities, you do NOT have to respond to this form. If you are a Rainier Beach High School (RBHS) student who is age 18 or older, you may opt yourself out using this form. All students will also have the chance to decline participation in these activities through another “student assent” before they start the survey. 

Note that you may receive this letter every year during the project. However, once you opt your child out of study activities, they/you are opted out for the rest of the project. You do not need to opt (them) out again.

Study Activities

There are two study activities you can opt your child out of: (1) taking a survey and (2) sharing school records that Chapin Hall will link to survey data to evaluate Upstream. Here is more information on these two activities:

1. The Student Strengths & Needs Survey (SSNS): RBHS invites students in grades 9 through 12 to take the SSNS once per school year on a computer or tablet during school hours. The SSNS includes questions about student experiences at school and home, where they live, and their well-being. Here are some examples:
   • How many times have you moved from one address to another during the past year?
   • During the past 30 days, about how often did you feel nervous?
   • I get along well with most of my teachers. (How much do you agree with this statement?)
2. Student School Records: Unless you deny permission, RBHS will share some of your child’s education records collected between August 1, 2022 and August 1, 2029 with Chapin Hall researchers. To evaluate whether Upstream is working, Chapin Hall will need to know if students benefit from Upstream services. For this purpose,  RBHS would like to share school records with the Chapin Hall research team. School records are information that the school collects and keeps about its students, including demographics, absenteeism, grade promotion, homelessness, service referrals, graduation, and whether students have individualized education programs. School records may also include information school staff collect as part of the Upstream Project.

The SSNS takes 15-20 minutes to complete, and students do not have to finish it. Students may choose not to participate or to skip any survey questions. Student answers are confidential. Chapin Hall will not share students’ specific answers to any particular survey questions with school staff.

Some students’ survey responses might suggest risk for homelessness or school disengagement. Chapin Hall will assess the survey responses and will create a list of student ID numbers for school staff to follow up with. School staff will contact you if your child’s survey responses indicate concern. School staff will discuss this with you and may offer services from SE Network (SEN). RBHS will only refer students to SEN with parent or guardian permission.

Study Risks

The SSNS is much like other surveys that students take from time to time. It is not likely to cause harm. The survey does ask some questions about sensitive topics, which might cause your child some distress. We expect that distress will be mild and should not last long. We will give each student a list of resources with the survey. Students can turn to those people and places if they feel distressed. Your child is not likely to be harmed if their school records are shared with Chapin Hall. Your child’s name will not be included on the SSNS or school records that RBHS shares. Chapin Hall researchers will use Student ID numbers to link the school records and the survey. Chapin Hall will store the survey and school records data securely to protect your child’s confidentiality.

Study Benefits

Participating in the SSNS may benefit your child and family. This is especially true if your family is at risk for homelessness or your child shows signs of disengagement from school. RBHS will offer to connect you and your child to services to help prevent such challenges from getting worse. Your family won’t directly benefit from RBHS sharing your child’s education records with Chapin Hall. But, these records will help Chapin Hall determine if the Upstream works and how to make it work better. This could help your child or other students in the future.

Use of Research Data

Chapin Hall will never share your child’s survey data or school records with anyone outside the research team. The survey data and school records will only be used (1) to help RBHS identify students who need support and service connections, (2) to improve the services offered to them, and (3) to learn whether Upstream successfully identifies students who need supports. Chapin Hall will produce a short report for RBHS. It will describe the overall strengths and needs of students in the school. We will share this report with community members. This will allow us to make informed decisions together about how to support students and their families. Chapin Hall will also write reports and articles and make presentations summarizing findings. Chapin Hall will never identify students in its reports, articles, or presentations. No future research studies will use the data collected for the Upstream Project.

Once every school year, your child may be asked to take this survey again. Chapin Hall will link your child’s and other students’ survey responses from year-to-year to assess changes over time in how students are doing. This helps Chapin Hall evaluate the program and provide the school with information on how to improve supports to students.

This study will last up to five years.  At the end of the study, Chapin Hall will destroy any identifying data it has on students. Other data, including consent forms, will be deleted seven years later (by August 1, 2036).

Mandated Reporting

In the event that your child discloses experiencing abuse or neglect, or intent to harm themselves or others, by law, the research team and school personnel must release certain information to the appropriate authorities. This is unlikely to happen through these research activities.

Voluntary Participation and Right to Refuse or Withdraw

Participation in this study is voluntary. You can choose whether your child participates in this study or not. You can also withdraw your child from the study at any point or request that any data collected from your child not be used.  Your child’s grades, educational experiences, and opportunities to receive help from RBHS will not be affected if your child does not participate in the study. Students age 18 and older can opt in or out on their own.

Contact Information

If you have questions about the study or about the Upstream Project, please contact RBHS Social Worker Georgette Carter at 206-252-6457 or gecarter@seattleschools.org , or Dr. Forrest Moore, Chapin Hall Policy Fellow, at 312-952-5237 or fmoore@chapinhall.org.

If you have any questions or concerns about your rights or your child’s rights as a study participant, please contact the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York (BRANY) Institutional Review Board at 516-318-6877 or report a concern to the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York Institutional Review Board.  

The Upstream Project is consistent with RBHS, District, and state education policies and is approved by the Superintendent and the Board of Education. Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Act. 20 U.S.C. Section 1232(c)(1)(A), you have the right to review a copy of the survey. To do this, please contact RBHS Social Worker Georgette Carter at 206-252-6457.

Parental/Guardian Opt-Out

If you do not want your child to participate in the survey or if you do not want Rainier Beach High School to share your child’s school records with Chapin Hall, you may opt your child out in one of two ways:

• Call RBHS Social Worker Georgette Carter at 206-252-6457 or email gecarter@seattleschools.org
• Complete the opt-out form you received via Talking Points and the the School Info App digitally or email the signed form to gecarter@seattleschools.org .

If you choose to opt your child out of participating in the survey, please call or submit the opt-out form within two weeks of receiving the form via Talking Points or the School Info App. Chapin Hall may reach out to you in the future about other ways in which your child can participate in the evaluation of the Upstream project.

Sincerely,

Annie L. Patu
Principal
Rainier Beach High School