Medford survey: 1 in 5 students report recent poor mental health; district outlines prevention and support plan

Stacy Schulman, director of school counseling and behavioral health for Medford Public Schools, told the School Committee that the district’s 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) found substantial numbers of students reporting recent problems with mental health. “Nineteen percent of our middle schoolers and 20 percent of our high schoolers reported that their mental health was not good most of the time or always in the past 30 days,” Schulman said during the Jan. 26 presentation.

The district switched in 2025 from a locally developed instrument to the nationally standardized YRBS to allow comparisons with state and national trends, the presenters said. Catherine Dhingra of the City of Medford Office of Prevention and Outreach described the YRBS as “a nationally recognized evidence‑based tool” that uses anonymity to improve honesty and pairs quantitative results with focus groups to give context.

The presenters flagged disparities: LGBTQ students and some students of color reported worse outcomes on several measures. Schulman said those unequal experiences “reflect how environment, systems and access to support shape our young people’s experiences” and urged the committee to prioritize targeted supports.

On substance use, district staff said overall youth use rates are declining but that vaping and marijuana remain normalized among students. Catherine Dhingra said focus groups repeatedly described bathrooms as a common site for use and social networks and apps such as Snapchat as common access points for vapes and alcohol.

District leaders outlined prevention and support strategies already in place or expanding: a tiered approach that keeps many students in school while connecting those identified to interventions (the "I Decide" program has received more than 30 referrals this year), school-based wellness coaches, expanded peer-leader programs, the Michigan Model health curriculum, the Signs of Suicide program, vape detectors, and a new partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance to provide clinical supervision for school adjustment counselors.

Officials also announced caregiver-facing initiatives. Schulman said the district will offer a series of caregiver-university workshops this spring that include a session on youth gambling and digital risks; Dhingra said the city used gaming-commission funds to support a local study and that a 150‑page report on youth gambling in Medford will be released.

Presenters cautioned about limits in the high-school data: delayed administration reduced participation among juniors and seniors, and the district will be cautious in interpreting some trend comparisons. They said a new federal 'Partnerships for Success' grant ($1,250,000 over five years) will fund outside evaluators to strengthen trend analysis and program evaluation.

Committee members pressed for more detail on program usage and impact, digital-health links to sleep and bullying, and how the district will ensure targeted supports do not stigmatize students. Schulman and Dhingra described tracking of tier‑2 referrals, intention to make data accessible to students, and plans to include parents and caregivers in education efforts. The committee did not take any formal vote related to the report; presenters asked for follow-up and continued partnership with the committee as evaluation work proceeds.

The district said the full YRBS report and related visioning material are posted on the Medford High School building‑project website under Phase 3; the presenters also offered to provide an executive summary of the focus‑group findings on request.