YRBS Communications Bullet Points

YRBS Communications Bullet Points

Offered by Laurie Stillman on behalf of the Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition

TheMilton Public Schools recognize that for students to be productive, caring and contributing members of society, as our Mission Statement says, they need more than an excellent academic experience. They also need to be healthy in mind, body and spirit.

We regularly assess the academic progress of our children through a variety of mechanisms such as report cards, MCAS, PSATs, portfolios, and the like. We believe it is also important to understand our students’ health and safety status and to ask ourselves: Do the Milton Public Schools create a safe environment where children can thrive, and are MPS students making the right choices to keep themselves physically and psychologically sound so that they can reach their fullest potential?

To ascertain these questions, we felt it was important to survey students to better understand their risks and address them if need be. We determined that the best instrument was to employ a validatedsurvey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and used by many districts across the Commonwealth entitled, theYouth Risk Behavior Factor Surveillance Survey (YRBS). The results were calculated by a professionally trained statistician that is also experienced in assessing school culture.

In December 2014 we randomly selected nearly 500 students from grades 9-12. This was a large enough sample to make statistically valid conclusions, and the sample was quite representative of the ages, gender, racial backgrounds and academic standing of MHS students. We were able to also compare how we stand relative to the U.S.and the state. Here are some of the key findings:

Milton High School Students by comparison feel safe in their school environments.

• They reported dramatically lower rates of school bullying or cyberbullying
• Female students reported experiencing much less dating or sexual assaults, or being threatened at school
• There were significantly lower rates of students being offered illegal drugs at school

MHS Students are also less engaged in certain risky behaviors

• They smoke cigarettes less (this survey did not measure chewing tobacco or e-cigarettes)
• They are less likely to have ever used hallucinogens, ecstacy, methampehtamines, heroine or prescription drugs, although male use of cocaine was a cause for concern
• While students engaged in sexual intercourse at similar rates as their peers, girls used barrier method (condom) birth control at much higher rates, which offers protection against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies
• Milton students are less likely to drive drunk or to ride in a car with a driver who is drunk.

While Milton fared better than their peers at the state and national levels in these areas, we do not want to apply that bullying, illicit drug use, or risky sexual activity do not exist in our schools. However the MPS want to focus our efforts and resources on the areas that appear to be particularly problematic.

These include

• High rates of alcohol consumption and binge drinking (five drinks at a time), especially prevalent amongst white students, those involved in sports activities, and those with lower academic achievement There were also higher rates of consuming alcohol before engaging in sexual behavior.
• Marijuana use is also prevalent, and alcohol consumption was one of the biggest predictors of using marijuana
• A high rate of students—primarily females, reported being depressed or sad.
• As mentioned, male cocaine use is an issue

Call to Action

The Milton Public Schools is a highly regarded system because we believe in looking at data, naming our challenges, and devising plans for addressing them. When our school assessments showed an achievement gap, we named it, and then pursued evidence based strategies and resources to turn this problem around.

Similarly, we cannot afford to ignore the problems that this survey has illuminated. If we want our children to be successful and productive citizens, we cannot pretend that social issues don’t exist, nor can we afford to ignore or hide them.

Underage alcohol use and youth mental health issues are particular challenges in Milton that were raised by this survey. We must be clear that these are community problems that the school system cannot possibly address alone. These conditions are influenced by children’s environments including at home, their peers, and in their communities. Our schools must join with our families, community leaders, faith organizations, social service and health care organizations,and public safety officials to have a coordinated response that is inclusive and that identifies interventions that are proven to make a difference. Our approach cannot be driven by personal anxiety or indignation. We must look at the research and determine how we can unite to address these issues in a coordinated and impactful way, that emphasizes prevention instead of punishment.

What Can We Do?

-The Milton Public Schools has developed a Resource Guide on our website where families can get help for a variety of substance abuse and mental health issues

-We will convene faculty, administrators and students to better understand the issues and prioritize our strategies

-We are sending our faculty and students to a regional conference on underage drinking to get as much information as we can on best practices

-We are teaming up with the newly-formed Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, sending faculty, resource officers, administrators and students to meetings, where representatives from all sectors of Milton are committed to working on addressing these issues. We will tap their public health professionals for technical assistance and resources.

-We will sponsor educational programs for our faculty, parents and students, in coordination with the Coalition.

-We will continue tracking these issues in the future, and monitor our progress.

Every town, every school—whether public or private—has social challenges. They can choose to ignore or conceal them, or they can confront and address them. Milton chooses the latter. We are fortunate to have a community that is poised to make a difference for all of our children.