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New Albany-Plain Local presents substance-use survey findings; district plans follow-up at building level
Summary
Director Greg Taylor presented results of a February survey of grades 7, 9 and 11 on student use of alcohol, vaping, marijuana and prescription drugs; district staff will unpack results with counselors and partner agencies to guide education and prevention.
Greg Taylor, the district’s director of assessment and accountability, presented results from a substance-use survey administered Feb. 19–20 to students in grades 7, 9 and 11.
Taylor said 4 students were opted out by parents this year and participation rose by roughly 50 students compared with the prior year. "The purpose of the substance use survey is to collect information on drug, alcohol, and tobacco usage among the students of NAPLS, with a long term goal of monitoring the trends of alcohol and drug habits in the community," he said.
Key findings Taylor highlighted: lifetime or past-use responses were concentrated in alcohol, marijuana, vaporizers and tobacco; alcohol experimentation is steady at about 6% of respondents over the past three years; vaping/tobacco usage edged down to roughly 2.5% this year (from about 3.5% in an earlier year); and about 2–2.5% of respondents reported taking prescription drugs not prescribed to them.
Taylor said many students reported using substances with friends or at home and that, in most cases, students who reported use had tried only once or reported one to two days of use in the past 30 days. He also noted that students were often comfortable or somewhat comfortable reporting substance use to school staff.
Board members asked about the meaning of the frequent "I don't know" responses and breakdowns by grade. Taylor and staff said "I don't know" can reflect honest uncertainty among younger respondents and that the district will filter responses by grade cohort and drill down in building-level staff meetings to create action plans. Taylor noted counselors and mental-health specialists will examine grade-level results and that the district continues to collaborate with the Franklin County sheriff’s office on parent-education efforts.
Superintendent Sawyer said the survey results are used at staff meetings to guide local responses and called out district prevention efforts including in-school education, DARE at the elementary level, and an anonymous drug drop box at the police department.
Why it matters: the survey provides baseline data for counseling, prevention and parent education; the district intends to use results to shape targeted building-level actions rather than a single district-wide programmatic change.
Next steps: building administrators will review dashboards, counselors will develop grade-level action plans, and the district will continue parent outreach and partnerships with local law enforcement and prevention providers.
