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Healthy Kids Survey results prompt district focus on prevention; student anti‑vape club highlighted
Summary
District staff presented March survey results showing strong participation at some grades, concerns about substance experimentation at high school, and plans to use prevention programming; student leaders from Isbel described peer-led Anti‑Vape and Red Ribbon Week activities that staff said are reducing stigma and increasing peer-to-peer help-seeking.
Santa Paula Unified School District staff presented results from this year's California Healthy Kids Survey and described prevention programs that the district and students have put in place to address vaping, alcohol and other drugs.
Dr. Andres Santa Maria, director of student support services, told the board that the survey — administered in March to grades 5, 7, 9, 11 and Renaissance High School — produced strong participation in most grades (seventh grade participation at 99% and 11th grade at 83%). The survey measures school connectedness, adult support, safety, mental-health indicators and substance‑use experimentation.
"These insights help us understand broader aspects of our students' well‑being," Dr. Santa Maria said, noting the district will work with site teams to analyze school-level nuances and shape targeted responses.
Trustees raised concern that some indicators trended downward and that Renaissance High School reported higher rates of experimentation in one module (discussed in the presentation). Staff said the district has layered prevention measures in place — more than 200 security cameras, vape‑detection sensors in restrooms, visitor screening technology, two school resource officers, Healthy Futures as an alternative to suspension, and parent workshops — and is seeking supplemental grant funding.
Isbel Middle School adviser Mark Lopez and student members of the Anti‑Vape Social Club described peer-led activities used to reach classmates: impaired‑goggles demonstrations, advisory presentations, student-produced videos, conferences, and a student panel that shared personal stories about vaping and substance impacts. Student presenter Ruby Sumaya said students are more likely to seek help from peers who have shared experiences than from adults.
"It's better for ASB and the Anti‑Vape Social Club to tell other students," Ruby told the board, adding that student-to-student conversations have led peers to ask for help.
Board members praised the student work and asked staff to continue site-level analysis of the survey data and to expand effective prevention activities across grade levels.
Provenance: Survey results and prevention program descriptions appear in the presentations section; student testimony and board Q&A are included in the transcript record.
