Renee Crown study finds high elementary access but steep drop in middle‑school awareness; recommends expanding wellness centers

Boulder Valley School District trustees heard a yearlong review of student mental‑health supports Tuesday that found broad strengths at the elementary level and notable gaps for adolescents.

Presenters from the Renee Crown Wellness Institute told the board their mixed‑methods Be Well study — based on nearly 15,000 student survey responses, educator and family surveys, focus groups and wellness‑center usage data — identified “bright spots” in elementary schools and areas for targeted intervention in middle and high schools. "Elementary students report they know where to go to access services, and more than 80% say they have at least one trusted adult in school," the presenters said, calling that a protective factor for student wellbeing.

The institute reported response rates of about 72% among students, more than 80% among educators and roughly 6% among families (about 1,000 responses), and said the family sample size limited some subgroup analysis. Researchers said they observed a drop in perceived access from over 90% in elementary to roughly 57% in middle school and that comfort asking for support falls even more sharply in that age group.

Researchers also flagged mental‑health indicators in secondary students, including a measure showing about 21.7% of middle‑ and high‑school respondents reporting frequent symptoms consistent with feeling down or hopeless. Focus groups and a youth advisory council corroborated survey themes, with students describing school refusal patterns and urging more accessible, de‑stigmatized supports.

Wellness centers already in six BVSD high schools recorded more than 24,000 visits through April and were associated with increased reports of positive mood and trusted adult connections, presenters said. "Students who use wellness centers are more likely to report having a trusted adult," a presenter said.

Based on the findings, Renee Crown recommended the district increase awareness of supports in middle and high schools, refine and expand wellness centers into middle schools, strengthen educator training to identify signs and symptoms, improve family communications about available resources, and strategically study a smaller subset of the district’s existing programs. The institute said it cataloged 48 district‑level programs addressing mental‑health topics and recommended focusing evaluation efforts on a prioritized subset rather than attempting an effectiveness review of all programs at once.

Superintendent Dr. Anderson told trustees the district will publish a full report and use the findings to develop an action plan with leadership and school staff. Board members pressed for further subgroup analyses (by special education status, ELL, and school) and asked whether the recent district cell‑phone policy change affected social‑media‑related outcomes; researchers said those analyses are planned for the final report.

Next steps include public release of the full Be Well report and follow‑up integration meetings with school leaders and district personnel to refine implementation priorities and metrics.