Seeing data showing that some Marshfield middle and high school students feel sad or hopeless, or have even considered suicide, frightens Marshfield Public Schools comprehensive health coordinator Marybeth Battis.
“It scares me to think that we have students that have considered suicide or actually created a plan to attempt suicide,” she said.
For almost 20 years, students in grades 7, 9 and 11 have taken the anonymous and voluntary survey, which gauges student habits and behaviors in categories ranging from wellness to sexual behavior to tobacco, drug and alcohol use. This year, 126 seventh-graders, 161 ninth-graders and 153 11th-graders took the survey.
Superintendent Jeff Granatino said knowledge is power, making the survey results a powerful tool for educators.
“We need that information to help us strategize ways we can better prepare our students for these challenges that may come before them, these temptations,” he said.
Determining cause
According to survey results, 22 percent of seventh-graders, 19 percent of ninth-graders and 44 percent of 11th-graders surveyed reported feeling sad or hopeless for more than two weeks.
That represented a drop among ninth-graders, of whom 31 percent reported feeling the same way last year, but an increase in the other grades. Last year, 16 percent of seventh-graders and 34 percent of 11th-graders reported feeling that way.
With 14 percent of seventh-graders, 12 percent of ninth-graders and 19 percent of 11th-graders reporting having considered suicide, she said the district has to continue to address mental health topics through its health curricula. Even more startling is the fact that 9 percent of 11th-graders reported having made a suicide plan in the last 12 months.
“Even if it’s one student, that’s too many for me,” Battis said.
During the presentation, School Committee member Heidi Church asked if there's any indication as to what it is that's making students feel hopeless or suicidal. The survey doesn’t ask what is making students feel sad or anxious, so the cause is unclear, Battis said. Next year, she said she wants to add additional questions to the survey that delve deeper into the cause of those feelings—whether the school workload or something in their personal lives.
“The first step is determining what’s causing it, or what’s contributing to it, and then helping our kids develop the coping skills to deal with some of the issues they’re dealing with,” Battis said.
In the upcoming school year, mindfulness will be added to the ninth-grade curriculum, which already addresses suicide and depression. The practice encourages living in the moment, something she said could be helpful for students feeling stress about college, or the challenges of balancing school with sports or after school activities and personal lives.
“It’s a moment in time you feel that upset, that anxious, that depressed. You’re not going to feel that way forever,” Battis said.
Signs of positive change
Battis had some positive statistics to share.
For one, she said, students are seeking out adults at school they can talk to—51 percent of seventh-graders, 70 percent of ninth-graders and 77 percent of 11th-graders report having an adult they can talk to at school.
The tobacco and alcohol numbers also look good, she said. In 2016, 40 percent of eleventh graders reported trying tobacco, a drop from 56 percent in 2015. Three percent of seventh-graders and 25 percent of ninth-graders reported trying tobacco in 2016, according to results.
“The majority of our kids haven’t even tried smoking,” Battis said.
This coming school year, she wants to add a question to the survey about e-cigarette use to gather data on that trend.
According to survey results, 48 percent of 11th-graders, 76 percent of ninth-graders and 96 percent of seventh-graders reported having never tried marijuana in 2016.
“We’re going to continue to hope that our kids are understanding that marijuana is also a drug, and that it’s a drug that can lead to other drug use. No one ever says that they started using heroin the first time they used drugs,” Battis said.
One alcohol-related statistic Battis said she wants to keep an eye on is the number of students who report a parent being present and aware of underage drinking at a party.
“We have some parents that believe that that’s going to help to keep our kids safe,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think it gives our kids the right message. If we can make it harder for our kids to drink or to get alcohol, and we can delay it as long as possible, we’re in a much better place.”
This year, 27 percent of eleventh-graders reported being in that situation in the last 30 days compared to 26 percent in 2015 and 16 percent in 2014.
School Committee Vice Chairwoman Carol Shrand noted that parental education is an important part of addressing that particular issue.
Teamwork, education, involvement key
In the last year, Battis said a number of programs in the schools have helped address areas of concern including drugs and bullying, including Marshfield police drug programs. Another standout is the sixth-grade All Stars curriculum, which encourages parents to get involved in lessons their children are learning about preventing drug use and underage drinking, she said.
“It works on developing the skills for the kids to be able to say no, to be more assertive, and to look at short term and long term goals,” and how to meet those goals without letting drugs or alcohol get in the way, Battis said.
Through the program, schools send home information that parents can use to spark conversations with their children, a tool Church highlighted as a helpful one during the meeting.
“I would love to see things like that continue as they get older,” she said.
The involvement of parents, police and others in the community speaks to a larger trend of tackle issues students face in today’s world as a team, Granatino said.
“Marshfield has really embraced the idea of tackling any substance abuse issue as a unified force,” Granatino said.
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