Regional School District 18 hears Youth Voices Count survey showing declines in some substance‑use measures and ongoing youth mental‑health concerns
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Summary
Presenters told the board the biannual Youth Voices Count survey (grades 6–12) had about a 90% response rate and showed lower rates than prior cycles for some measures — including a drop in students reporting thoughts of self‑harm and lower marijuana indicators — while still identifying 11.6% of respondents as having seriously considered suicide (65 students).
Bonnie Smith, the survey consultant for the district’s Youth Voices Count instrument, and Luke Smith, the lead analyst, presented highlights of the biannual survey for grades 6–12 to the Regional School District 18 board on the district’s behalf.
The presentation, introduced by Mary Seidner of the Lyme Youth Service Bureau, reported an overall response rate of about 90%. Presenters said the most common age for students to get their first personal smartphone is 11, and that 23%–46% of students across grade bands reported both positive and negative social‑media effects (connectedness versus difficulty stopping scrolling). On emotional‑health indicators, presenters said 23.5% of students reported feeling almost always or always anxious or nervous in the past year (an improvement from 30% at the prior survey), 18.7% reported thoughts of self‑harm and 11.6% — 65 students in the district sample — reported seriously considering suicide in the past year. Of those 65 students, presenters said 43% reported making a plan and roughly 20% indicated an attempt; presenters emphasized these follow‑up questions are new to this cycle.
Why it matters: district leaders said the data help target supports and programming and can strengthen grant applications to bring resources into schools and the community. Board members asked whether the trends align with state comparisons and whether specific questions changed between cycles; presenters said trend pages and the full report will be posted and that some new questions were added (for example, age of first smartphone and a question about difficulty stopping social‑media use).
The presenters reviewed substance‑use findings: lifetime alcohol use remained the most commonly reported substance (about 17% across grades 6–12), followed by nicotine vaping and marijuana; binge‑drinking and recent‑use measures were shown by grade band. Presenters also said perception‑of‑harm and parental/peer disapproval measures for marijuana had moved in a favorable direction, coinciding with lower observed use rates in this survey cycle.
Board members and student representatives asked several practical questions: how to use the data to inform goals, curriculum and staffing; whether gambling measures changed; and whether students take the survey seriously during homeroom. Presenters said the survey is anonymous, that the analysis accounts for lower response among some grade levels, and that the district can request additional breakdowns or the more extensive PowerPoint for public posting. The board’s superintendent said the district already factors similar data into personnel and program decisions and encouraged using the findings to pursue grants or targeted interventions.
The board requested the full report and supplementary slides be made available online. Presenters and the Lyme Youth Service Bureau said the full report and additional presentation files will be posted for board and public review.
What’s next: board members asked the presenters to return with further breakdowns if requested and signaled interest in using the findings to guide goal‑setting and to inform committee discussion about targeted supports.
