Rockport presentation of youth health survey shows notable mental-health and vaping signals among students

Superintendent Kathy Bridal and district and regional health partners presented results of a youth health survey to the Rockport School Committee on Oct. 13, reporting a mix of encouraging and concerning measures that the district plans to use for prevention, outreach and grant applications. "This is the first data point that we have ... because we gave it for the first time in 2022 and the second time in 2024," the presenter said, describing changes in sampling and participation that affect year-to-year comparisons.

Chelsea Goldstein Walsh, regional prevention director at the Gloucester Health Department, who helped oversee the survey's regional implementation, explained how the survey grouped responses: "So, any student who indicated sometimes, most of the time, or always, it was all grouped together," she said, noting the reported mental-health metric pools multiple response levels. The committee heard that 56% of high school students reported their mental health was "not good" at least sometimes in 2024, down from 67% in 2022; middle-school figures moved from 47% to 52%.

On safety, presenters said 78% of high school students reported feeling safe at school in 2024 (versus 73% in 2022), while bullying-on-school-property responses were 11% in the high school (roughly steady). On substance use, the committee was told that 45% of high-school respondents reported alcohol use in the previous 30 days in 2022 versus 43% in 2024, and that 23% of high school students reported using electronic vaping devices in the previous 30 days. Presenters cautioned that the survey records any use in the past 30 days — from a single sip to heavier use — so the measure does not differentiate intensity.

School leaders and the regional social worker, Jesse Palm, emphasized limits in the data for a small district: participation rates ranged from about 60% to 86% across grades, and some class cohorts were small (the transcript notes about 40 seniors in the current class), meaning individual absences can skew percentages. Committee members pressed on whether more granular breakdowns (for example, the share who answered "always" versus "sometimes") were available; presenters said such breakdowns can be requested from the analysis firm (John Snow Inc.).

Students asked how the district might use the data to change policies. District presenters said some issues are governed by state law (for example, statutory bullying rules and certain disciplinary matters), but the survey will inform local programming, advisory work and targeted prevention efforts. The presenters repeatedly framed next steps as educational and supportive rather than purely punitive: the district highlighted plans for assemblies, advisory conversations, classroom instruction and family-facing resources to link students with help.

Committee members and presenters also noted that the survey's timing and differences in which grades were included in each administration (for example, sixth grade was included in 2022 but not in 2024) can change percentage comparisons; the committee agreed to consider timing changes to get more consistent data in future administrations.

The committee did not take any formal action on policy changes during the meeting; presenters encouraged the district to request additional cross-tabs from the vendor and to use the data in planning and grant applications.

The committee's discussion and the presentation are part of the district's planned follow-ups, including sharing selected results with students in advisory settings and pursuing grant funding and prevention resources with the board of health and regional partners.