Survey shows declines in student substance use but persistent mental-health symptoms; district outlines upstream prevention steps

Los Alamos Public Schools prevention staff presented results from the 2023 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey at the April 15 meeting, highlighting encouraging declines in several substance-use measures alongside continuing mental-health concerns.

Christine Copeland, program director for prevention, and Sylvia Diehl, prevention specialist, summarized the YRSS findings and caveats. Copeland emphasized the survey’s strengths and limits: "One thing that the YRSS cannot tell us is the why of everything you see; it's aggregated data and gives a picture of a moment in time," she said. The presenters also noted that Los Alamos had a high participation rate (over 70%) for both middle and high schools, which improves the reliability of local estimates.

Key findings presented by staff included: - Alcohol and tobacco: Multi-year trends showed decreases. Presenters said those trends were encouraging but noted remaining prevalence — roughly the equivalent of about six high-school students per 30-student classroom reporting recent alcohol use and about four students per classroom using e-cigarettes. - Marijuana and other drugs: Usage has declined but remained nonzero; presenters estimated about four high-school students and two middle-school students per class reporting current marijuana use. - Mental health: Roughly a third of students reported symptoms consistent with anxiety, depression, or both on survey measures (described in the presentation as "symptoms" rather than clinical diagnoses).

Copeland and Diehl highlighted protective factors tied to lower reported substance use and better mental-health outcomes, particularly student connectedness to teachers and other supportive adults. Diehl explained how connectedness was measured and showed correlations in the district data: students who reported strong connections to teachers were less likely to report alcohol and drug use and reported fewer mental-health symptoms.

Presenters laid out a layered, upstream-prevention approach that reinforces supports at home, school and community levels. District-reported and planned strategies include Sources of Strength at the high school, restorative-practices circles and community-building activities, expanded social-emotional learning (Second Step curriculum), the new puberty/wonder-years curriculum, safe-and-civil-schools training for staff, a "calm room" (wellness/reset room) at the high school, and targeted interventions for students identified as higher risk. Diehl and Copeland said the calm room has been used informally during a soft opening and averages several student visits per week; staff reported that most students are able to regulate and return to class after short visits.

Board members asked about question wording and measurement windows (many items use a 30-day recall period) and requested deeper breakdowns for some measures. Multiple board members urged continuing upstream investments and recurring professional development. Superintendent and finance staff later connected the presentation to budget requests that support staff training, counseling positions, and preventive programs.

Presenters invited the board and community to review full YRSS reports at youthrisk.org and said they would continue follow-up analyses, community partner engagement and implementation of the prevention strategies described.