Waunakee board hears Dane County youth assessment showing rising vaping, anxiety and treatment gaps

The Waunakee Community School District board heard a high-level briefing on the Dane County Youth Assessment and local school mental-health data on Feb. 10, with presenters saying vaping has increased since 2021 and that many students who report frequent anxiety are not receiving treatment.

The presentation, given to the board’s curriculum committee then summarized at the full board meeting, described the assessment as an anonymous, voluntary survey administered every three years to middle- and high-school students. Presenters told the board about participation levels — roughly 600 middle-school and 570 high-school respondents — and cautioned the sample is not fully representative of total enrollment.

District and coalition presenters said alcohol use remained roughly stable compared with prior cycles, while tobacco and THC-related measures rose, “most notably in vaping,” and that future grant goals will likely target vaping access and education. Tim, Maddie and a high-school senior, Jenna, representing the Community Cares Coalition, framed the coalition’s substance-prevention work and its focus on vaping reduction.

John Wilde and Jess Hickey, identified to the board as district social workers, gave context on how assessment results show up in school practice. They said the most frequent concerns are elevated anxiety and worry; suicidal ideation and planning; and gaps in access to treatment. According to the presentation, about one in three middle-school students reported often or always feeling nervous or anxious; at the high school that figure was reported as 45 percent. The social-work team said only about 13 percent of the middle-school students and about 18 percent of the high-school students in those categories were actively receiving treatment or strategies at school.

The social workers linked anxiety and substance use to academic pressure, social pressure and device use, and said those factors often manifest as class avoidance, attendance problems and spikes in requests for accommodations such as 504 plans. They also reported multiple students who answered affirmatively to survey items about suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts, and emphasized that even low-percentage rates translate to multiple affected students.

Board members and staff discussed next steps, including expanding options for therapeutic services in the district rather than referring families outside the community. The district said it is exploring adding psychotherapy services in elementary schools and other in-district therapeutic placements, but said details and timelines were “to come.”

Direct questions from board members ranged from whether screen time in instruction had been evaluated to what parent-education steps might reduce out-of-school social-media exposure. The superintendent, Dr. Kelsey Brown, and staff said classroom screen time itself is not viewed as the primary problem; rather, staff pointed to students’ continued connection to social media on personal devices as a fragmentation and anxiety risk. Staff noted anecdotal declines in incidents after revised high-school cell-phone practices were implemented this school year, and recommended increased parent education, use of Common Sense Media resources, short newsletter tips for families, and targeted parent nights.

Board members also asked about district capacity to intervene earlier. Presenters said mental-health trends were beginning in younger grades but that the district lacks a K–5 survey to quantify the phenomena; they recommended continuing prevention grant cycles focused on access and education and said more specific proposals will be returned to the board.

The board received the reports and directed staff to continue developing options to expand access to treatment and prevention-focused parent engagement. No formal vote or budget decision on new services was taken at the Feb. 10 meeting; staff characterized the work as planning and next-step development.

The district also presented an academic-achievement snapshot — attendance on standardized-growth targets, declining D/F rates at middle and high school, and record participation and pass rates on Advanced Placement exams — and invited board members to follow up with staff for deeper review of the full achievement report.

The board framed the assessment findings as a planning input for grant work and family engagement rather than an immediate policy change; staff said they would return with more detailed proposals and options for expanding in-district therapeutic services and parent-education materials.