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District presents MetroWest adolescent health survey: participation high, disparities persist
Summary
District presenters reviewed MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey results showing high participation, falling trends in several risk areas, and persistent disparities for LGBTQ+ students and students with disabilities; the board asked for deeper subgroup analysis and family-facing data tools.
District staff presented high-level findings from the MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey, which covered 24 communities and reported strong participation and mixed trends across substance use, bullying, mental health and digital-wellness measures.
The presenter said the district's participation rate was "about 90%" this year and emphasized that the MetroWest survey is one of multiple data sources the district uses to understand youth needs. "Our participation rate for this year, we had about 90% participation rate, which was great," the presenter said.
Key findings summarized by staff included overall decreases or flat trends in many substance-use measures at the high school level; higher 30-day substance-use prevalence in the transition from 9th to 10th grade; improvements in bullying and cyberbullying rates toward pre‑COVID levels; and persistent subgroup disparities, with LGBTQ+ youth and students with disabilities reporting higher rates of bullying and mental-health symptoms.
On online behavior, staff described the PRIAS-3 screening items used this year and reported the number of students who scored at higher-risk thresholds in participating schools. The presenter noted district differences in in-school phone-management strategies (Yondr pouches in Malden, bell-controlled policies at Whittier, classroom caddies at the high school) and that outside‑of‑school screen time remains high (about 43%–49% of students reported three or more hours per day on smartphones outside school).
Committee members asked for technical clarifications (distinction between "stressed" and clinical GAD measures), month of data collection (November), subgroup breakouts, and standard errors or effect-size information. Staff said the district will post full data and interactive dashboards online, pursue targeted data subcommittee work, and use infographics and name‑specific parent outreach to help families interpret results.
"We have a tremendous amount of data," a committee member said. Staff also flagged available noncompetitive grants through the Mental Health Foundation for districts that participated in the MetroWest survey.
