District survey shows declines in cigarette and prescription drug use; e-cigarette use has fallen from earlier highs

Miss Bell presented the district’s Kansas Communities That Care survey results, comparing local participation and student self-reports with county and state trends and highlighting targeted uses of the data.

Participation and timing. Miss Bell said the district’s participation rate is strong compared with county and state averages; current students have until Nov. 7 to finish the current survey window. She reminded the board that cohorts are surveyed in sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grades, and that a given student is typically surveyed every two years.

Behavioral health and substance use. Miss Bell said self-reported alcohol experimentation was about 12% or less and that cigarette use was below 2%. She said e-cigarette use — which at one point had been reported by more than 32% of students — has fallen and the current cohort is under 10%. Marijuana and prescription drug misuse have also shown declines in recent years, she said.

Use of results. The survey aggregates climate and risk/protective-factor data. Miss Bell said counselors and social workers will use the results to tailor lesson and prevention work and that building counselors will meet soon to examine building-level data. She said the teen-topics curriculum will include vaping content where appropriate.

Board follow-up. A board member asked whether students who are surveyed are re-surveyed every two years; Miss Bell confirmed the six/eight/ten/twelve grade cadence. She and other administrators said the data will help them target counseling and curriculum adjustments.

No board action was taken; the item was presented for information and planning use.