Wakefield presents 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey; mental-health indicators improving, gaps remain for LGBTQ+ students

Wakefield Public Schools officials presented results from the April 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to the School Committee on Oct. 14, reporting districtwide improvements in several mental-health indicators while urging follow‑up listening sessions to explore disparities by subpopulation.

The survey, administered to seventh through 12th graders, produced a 58% response rate at Wakefield Memorial High School and 66% at Galvin Middle School, the district said. The evaluator, JSI Inc., cautioned that response rates under roughly 60% reduce the certainty that results represent the full student population, the presenters told the committee.

The YRBS tracks risk factors such as substance use, mental health and safety, and protective factors including trusted adults, sleep and physical activity. "The YRBS helps identify community strengths and gaps," Liz Parsons, Wakefield’s prevention and human-services coordinator, said during the presentation.

Key findings cited by Parsons and district counselors include: - School connectedness increased across the district; no significant differences were found by subpopulation for that measure. Officials said having at least one adult at school students can talk to is rising. - Indicators of poor mental health at the high school have declined since a peak in 2021: reports of depression, recent poor mental-health days, suicide ideation, attempts and self‑injury all showed downward trends, the presenters said. - Students who identify as LGBQ+ and transgender/gender‑diverse were significantly more likely to report depression and related poor mental‑health outcomes; male students were significantly less likely to report those outcomes. Similar subgroup disparities were noted at Galvin, where LGBTQ+ and Hispanic/Latino students showed higher rates for some measures. - Sleep: the share of high‑school students reporting eight or more hours of sleep increased; Galvin’s sleep measures remained relatively unchanged. - Screen time: students reporting three or more hours of daily screen time (outside of homework) increased at Galvin and remained high overall; district officials flagged screen time as a concern for sleep and mental health. - Substance use: high‑school alcohol use showed a slight decrease versus 2023 and a longer‑term decline since 2017; vaping dropped at the high school from 11% to 7% in 2025 while increasing slightly at Galvin. Lifetime use of newer nicotine pouches and dissolvable products was 7% at the high school and 2% at Galvin. Marijuana use trended down at the high school and was slightly higher at Galvin. - Underage gambling emerged as an area to monitor: survey responses indicated 24% of male students at Wakefield Memorial High School reported engaging in gambling on skill games such as sports‑related microtransactions and in‑game purchases.

Andrew (school counselor, Galvin Middle School) told the committee that the district has expanded counseling and prevention resources in recent years, including SOS suicide‑risk screenings in grades 8 and 10, SBIRT substance‑use screenings in grades 7 and 9, WIN/ advisory blocks for group interventions, and peer leadership programs such as ChangeMakers. "To me, school connectedness is always going to come back to trusted adults," he said.

District staff described the diversion program for students caught with or under the influence of substances. Under that approach, students attend two two‑hour I‑Decide curriculum sessions (Mass General Hospital material) as part of a harm‑reduction and restorative pathway, rather than relying only on punitive suspension, presenters said.

Funding and partnerships cited: Wakefield used YRBS data when applying for a Cummings Foundation grant now in its third year (recently extended), the Stop School Violence grant recently ended, and the district continues to seek partnerships with local mental‑health providers and community groups.

Next steps outlined by Parsons included conducting listening sessions with students to explore the context behind subgroup differences (for example, the reasons behind students skipping school due to safety concerns), continuing school and community programs tied to protective factors, and using YRBS results to inform future grant applications. Officials asked the committee to note that the YRBS is administered every two years and that the district will have an opportunity next year to propose question changes and community engagement strategies prior to the next administration.

Committee members raised questions about how the survey was administered (electronic links completed during a school period), opt‑out procedures (families could opt out in advance via a form), and strategies to raise response rates and inform parents and students about the survey’s value.

The presenters told the committee the district will use the YRBS data cautiously as a prompt for deeper inquiry and action, not as definitive proof of cause and effect. They emphasized evaluating individual interventions directly where possible and continuing to build trusted adult relationships as a foundational protective factor.

Wakefield officials encouraged parents and community members to contact the district with questions and to participate in proposed listening sessions and Parent University events that will address topics such as bullying, microaggressions and gambling risks.