This November, you’ll be invited to complete the Student Census—a survey for all students in Grades 4 to 12 across Limestone.
What is a Student Census?
A survey:
It is not a test. It is a special survey that Limestone has with questions that helps your school and the school board learn more about you and your classmates—like how you feel at school and what helps you do your best.
It is important:
Human rights mean everyone should be treated fairly and kindly. When schools know more about their students, they can make sure everyone gets a fair chance to learn and grow.
It is online in November:
Each student will get a link in their email to participate in the Student Census survey in November. Students in grades 4 to 12 will have time to do the survey in class. Students can also get a paper copy of the survey if they choose.
It is optional:
All students in Limestone will have a chance to participate if they choose. They can also choose not to participate.
It is private:
All information shared by students is kept private (confidential). No one can find out your answers or that you participated in the Student Census.
It is about you (students):
Everyone’s identity (who they are) is unique and should be respected. It is also important to understand how all students experience school and see how we can make this better.
The Census helps us better understand who our students are, how they experience school, and what supports they need to feel safe, included, and successful. It’s part of our commitment to upholding Indigenous and human rights, improving student achievement, and supporting well-being.
What kinds of questions will you be asked?
The Census includes questions about:
- Your background (like race, ethnicity, language, and religion)
- Your identity (such as disability status, gender identity, and neurodiversity)
- Your school experiences (how safe, welcome, and supported you feel)
- Your learning environment (what helps or challenges your success)
These questions help us understand the diversity of the student population and how different students experience school.
Your privacy and data security are a top priority.
We understand that some of these questions are personal, and we want you to feel confident in how your information is handled.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Census is not anonymous, but your responses are confidential. That means your email is connected to your answers, but your personal information is protected.
- Your responses will not be shared with your classmates, teachers, or principals.
- Your survey answers will be connected to your email address. This helps connect your answers with other school data—like attendance or achievement—so we can better understand patterns and work to remove systemic barriers.
- All data is stored securely and only accessed by trained staff who are working to improve equity and student success.
- The information is used only to support students—not to evaluate individuals or make decisions about you personally.
- The survey is optional.
- If you do the survey, you can change your mind later and ask us to remove your information.
Why does this matter?
Your voice helps us:
- Find and remove barriers to student success
- Improve programming, supports, and learning environments
- Make decisions that are more fair, inclusive, and responsive to student needs
This is Limestone’s second Student Census, and your participation helps shape a better school experience—for you and for others.
Systemic change with the student census
When we ask about this... | ...We want to know about this |
|---|---|
Race, ethnicity, language, and citizenship | Racism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism |
Disability and special education | Ableism |
Sexual orientation and gender | Homophobia, transphobia, sexism |
Religion and faith | Islamophobia, antisemitism, religious discrimination |
Indigenous identities | Anti-Indigenous racism and colonialism |
The goal of making changes to the school system is to improve students' experiences.
Letter of Information for Students
This letter of information provides more detailed information on the specifics of the survey process, data use, privacy and security.
Letter of Information for Students
You are invited to do the 2025 Student Census because you are a student in the Limestone District School Board. We want to help all students do well and feel good at school and make sure everyone’s rights are respected. Please read this so you know what the survey is about and can choose if you want to do it.
Do I have to do this survey? No, it’s your choice. You can skip questions, stop anytime, or come back later. Any answers you give will be saved.
How long will it take? The survey might take about 30 minutes, but you may take more or less time.
How do I do the survey? The survey is online. The link to your survey is in your Limestone email inbox. This link is just for you. You cannot take the survey using another link.
What is the survey about? This survey asks about who you are and what school is like for you. Later, we add your school information (like your grade and some academic information) to your answers. This helps us see how your identity, school experience, and learning are connected.
What if I don’t like some of the questions? Sometimes, reading and answering questions about yourself and your identity can lead to big feelings or concerns, and that’s okay. You can stop the survey any time and don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to. Ask a parent or caregiver, trusted staff at your school, or another trusted adult in your life if you want to talk more about the topics on the survey.
Will you show anyone my answers? No, your answers are private. We won’t share them unless we’re worried that you’re in danger or might hurt yourself or someone else. If that happens, we’ll only tell the people who need to help keep you safe.
How are you keeping my answers private? We follow strict privacy rules to keep your answers safe:
- Only the two people on the Research Team can see your answers.
- We only share group results (15 or more students). Smaller groups are combined or not shared.
- We use a Canadian, safe survey tool called Voxco.
- Your email address is stored separately from your answers.
- We never email files, and all paper files are locked in a secure office. Our computers are password-protected and encrypted.
If someone gets access to your information by mistake (called a privacy breach), we follow Limestone’s safety rules (Administrative Procedure 195) to fix it.
Will the Research Team know which answers are mine? Yes. The survey is confidential, not anonymous. We collect your email address with your answers so we can link your school data, send you your personal survey link, and remove your answers if you ask. We don’t use your email when we study the results.
Will anyone else know which answers are mine? No. After we collect your answers, we remove your email address, so it isn’t stored with your answers. This process is called “deidentifying.” We keep your email address in a separate, safe file in case you ask us to delete your answers later.
How long will your keep my answers? We keep your deidentified answers for five years on Limestone’s Microsoft servers. This helps us learn how student experiences and identities change over time. You can ask us to delete your answers anytime by emailing studentcensus@limestone.on.ca. We can’t remove your information from reports we’ve already shared.
What are you going to do with my answers? We combine your answers and your school data with other students to learn what school is like for different identity groups (for example, students with disabilities). We write reports to show where the board is doing well and where we need to improve. Then, staff and leaders work to make things better. You can read what happened after the last census on our Student Census webpage.
If I have questions about this survey, who can I ask? Talk to a parent, caregiver, teacher, or trusted adult at school or in your community. You can also send question to the Research Team at studentcensus@limestone.on.ca
Paper Versions of the Survey
If you prefer a paper copy of the survey, you can tell your teacher: they will send your name to the Research Team. The Research Team will send a paper survey to the school with a unique code that’s just for you. When you finish the survey, you will put it back in an envelope that only has the unique code on it, which your teacher will send back to the Research Team at the board office.
Opting-out
Parents or guardians of students under the age of 18 have the right to opt their student out of the Student Census survey by contacting the principal and asking that their student not receive the survey. If your parent or caregiver opts you out of the survey, you will not get the survey in your email inbox.
Surveys
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