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District pupil services present Pennsylvania Youth Survey: vaping nicotine, some tobacco measures up; mental‑health indicators above state average but improving
Summary
Pupil services presented results from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey showing positive indicators for elementary school connectedness, declines in alcohol use, mixed trends in vaping (flavor down; nicotine and THC up), a rise in some cigarette measures for younger grades, and mental‑health metrics that remain above state averages though improved since 2023.
Pupil services staff summarized findings from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey administered in the district and used the data to recommend areas for further local attention.
The presenter said the 4th‑grade results were encouraging on connectedness: "They like school. They like us," and reported that more than three‑quarters of 4th graders feel school staff care about them. At the same time, the presenter warned of technology and access issues for young students: "43.5% actually have a cell phone that's connected to the internet," and roughly 30% reported they were on social media despite platform age limits.
District staff highlighted substance‑use trends among older grades. They reported that alcohol use declined across grades between 2023 and 2025 and that some measures of marijuana use decreased. However, inhalant use (glue, gasoline, etc.) was higher than state averages for 8th and 10th graders, and nicotine vaping increased in some groups even as flavor vaping declined. The presenter said THC vaping had also increased.
Mental‑health indicators remain an area of concern: staff said suicide‑risk measures and other metrics were higher than state averages but had decreased since the 2023 survey. Board members asked whether the district could track cohorts over time; staff said they will work toward cohort tracking as data accumulates.
Staff also outlined supports and programming in place: school‑based services through Pennsylvania Comprehensive Behavioral Health (PPBH), student assistance via TrueNorth with 36 high‑school and 29 middle‑school students served last year, brief group work from Highmark Caring Place (23 students last year), and community programs such as a farm‑to‑family produce event and a mobile vision clinic that provided glasses for about 80 students. The presenter encouraged continued family engagement and flagged plans for parent education and a September event with a threat‑assessment and internet‑safety speaker from a county unit and the nonprofit Live Like Levi.
Board members thanked pupil services for the report and asked for follow‑up on cohort analyses, gender breakdowns for substance‑use trends, and local participation lists for the statewide survey.
