Glendora USD survey flags skipped breakfasts, late bedtimes and rising teen sadness; board seeks ways to reach parents

The Glendora Unified School District on April 22 released highlights from its latest California Healthy Kids Survey, showing that a substantial share of secondary students reported skipping breakfast, going to bed late and experiencing prolonged sadness.

Josie Wilson, the district’s director of student and family support services, told the board the survey was administered to 7th, 9th and 11th graders with participation rates roughly in the high 80s for 7th and 9th grades and about 84% for 11th grade. "The data gives us a lot of insight ... to our students' well-being," Wilson said, and the district uses results to inform interventions and continuous school‑climate work.

Wilson and Danny Kent highlighted "glows"—high rates of students reporting adults have high expectations and many students reporting mostly A's and B's—and several "grows" the district wants to address. Among those grows Wilson cited: 28% of 7th graders, about 41% of 9th graders and about 39% of 11th graders reported not eating breakfast; 23% of 7th graders, 49% of 9th graders and 64% of 11th graders reported going to bed at 11 p.m. or later; and reports of chronic sadness or hopelessness were 25% (7th), 29% (9th) and 37% (11th).

Board members pressed staff on next steps. Trustee Garcia urged wider distribution of the results to families and suggested using district communications and social media: "We have this data—how are we going to use it?" she asked. Trustee Lopez recommended posting school‑level reports on the district website and providing a digestible summary for parents rather than the full 200‑page report.

Trustees discussed the limits of district authority over students’ home routines but emphasized that the district can increase access to breakfast and expand parent outreach and mental‑health supports. One trustee noted the district already offers universal breakfast and suggested exploring ways to make meals more accessible in classrooms or via targeted outreach at campuses reporting high rates of skipping meals.

Wilson said site principals have already reviewed their school reports with her office and that the district will post the new survey results on the website and expects to share comparative state data in the next district bulletin. Board members asked staff to return with concrete recommendations for communication strategies and programs informed by the survey when available.

The presentation concluded with trustees encouraging a coordinated outreach plan so parents who may not click meeting attachments still see headline findings and suggested actions.