As a part of our ongoing efforts to highlight meaningful ways in which the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) is being used across school districts, we sat down with Craig Mah, District Principal in School District 43 (Coquitlam).
With a strong focus on student well-being and data-informed decision making, Craig shares how MDI data have shaped district planning, supported school-level initiatives, and fostered deeper connections between students and caring adults. His insights, along with HELP’s longstanding relationship with SD43, offer a valuable look into the practical applications of MDI and the long-term impact it can have on school communities.
Tell us about your role in this SD43.
Currently, I hold a District Principal position. I have been in this role for the past five years. Part of my role includes writing the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning report. I also support schools with gathering data for their school goals.
How have you used MDI data in SD43, both in your role, or other ways in the district?
MDI data has been a great complement to another data source that we use frequently, the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning and the Ministry’s Student Learning Survey (SLS). Through these sources, we can view insights about students’ experiences of feeling safe, welcome, and a sense of belonging. The Ministry also asks us to respond to “2 or More Caring Adults”. We often use the MDI data to corroborate the data that we see in the Student Learning Survey, and can reference this data in our reports, especially around student connections with “2 or More Caring/Important Adults”
Another great aspect of MDI data is that it can be shared amongst principals. For example, a principal of a middle school can look at well-being measures for their feeder schools, and it also helps when principals move sites and can readily read their new school’s reports.
What actions have been taken in response to the data over the years?
The very first data pull from the SLS back in 2020 showed that the positive student responses to “2 or More Caring Adults” was lower than the provincial average, which was also reflected in MDI data. Based on this, we redesigned our school plans to include a Human and Social Development focus. MDI data was also useful in conversations with various community mental health and child care organizations — they were able to provide advice on how to improve the connection between students and staff.
We also discovered there was a need to carefully define “Important Adults” on the MDI and “Caring Adults” on the SLS — students were not fully understanding the connection the survey was making. One strategy was to share a staff photo during the survey so children could identify which adults that were important to them. Schools that have done this have shown more positive responses. Our Superintendent, Nadine Tambellini, has also been visiting middle schools and talking to hundreds of students. In conversation, the students can identify important adults at school, but when completing the survey, they misunderstand the question. From this, we encouraged invigilators to spend time clarifying who an important or caring adult might be.
Have you seen any long-term impacts of these actions? What are your hopes for SD43 moving forward?
Yes, we have seen a significant amount of growth in the percentage of children with connections to caring adults over the past three years. There has been a steady incline for Grade 4 students from SD43 from 2022 through 2024. Most significantly, Grade 4 students reporting 2 or more Important Adults at School increased from 62% in 2022 to 78% in 2024. We are still noticing a need for improvement with Grade 8 students, and hope that the conversations with students mentioned before will continue to make an impact.
Have you encountered any challenges with using MDI data, or responding to the data?
One of the challenges was cross referencing data and tracking over time. It is extremely time consuming to leaf through years’ worth of reports to find data. This is very important to us as we like to see how things are changing over longer periods. The MDI team at HELP has been outstanding in their support over the years. They have been able to share MDI data in Excel format, allowing me to quickly identify patterns and changes over time. The Ministry Analytics Team asked me to do a demo on how we use the Excel data to look for patterns. Hint: Using a pivot table is invaluable!
What advice would you have for educators and administrators that are about to work with MDI data for the first time?
Identify the need for the data. Building a narrative as to why we need the data has helped promote the MDI in our district. The district’s commitment to developing stronger connections between students and staff has created a desire to check the MDI. Thinking about questions like, what story does the data tell, what actions can schools take to help improve the situation, and what can be celebrated? The MDI is quite comprehensive, so picking out one or two pieces of data that is aligned with district or ministry goals is always a great place to start.
Want to discover insights about child and youth well-being in your community? The Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) Data Dashboard is an online, interactive tool that provides a comprehensive view of children’s well-being and assets in their lives at the provincial, school district, and neighbourhood levels from participating BC school districts and independent schools.
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