Student survey answers provide shocking results

The state’s biennial youth survey revealed startling results for Springfield High School students — especially the school’s female students.


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Student survey answers provide shocking results | March 21, 2018 By KATY SAVAGE ksavage@eagletimes.com Facebook Twitter Google+ Share KATY SAVAGE Springfield High School social worker Rosie DeCamp and student Merle Russell, 15, address the group Tuesday at the Nolin-Murray Center in Springfield. SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The state’s biennial youth survey revealed startling results for Springfield High School students — especially the school’s female students. Nineteen percent of females in grades nine through 12 were forced to have physical intercourse, according to survey results. Forty-four percent of them said they purposefully harmed themselves in the previous 12 months and only 26 percent of Springfield’s female students felt like they mattered to people in their community. A group of students presented results to a room of about 30 people on Tuesday. Health professionals, police officers, teachers and parents attended the discussion, led by students. They talked about the apparent sex issue, which student Tori Amsden found “scary.” While females reported being forced to have sex, too few males responded to that question to interpret results. “Boys feel like they can get away with anything they want and not have consequences for it,” Amsden, 16, said. Some in the meeting said shame and retaliation could come from talking about the issues. “These are ones that had the courage to report it,” student Haley Gibbons, 15, said. “These statistics are probably higher. It’s just sad.” Student Merle Russell, 15, was also surprised, but he had an inkling about what was happening at the school. “I heard stories growing up,” said Russell, a freshman. “It’s a shocker to know this is happening. I never believed it.” The Vermont Department of Health conducts the Youth Risk Behavior Survey every other year. The voluntary survey and asks students in middle schools and high schools questions related to drugs, sex and alcohol. While Springfield students were less likely to get in a car with someone who had been smoking marijuana than the state average, they were more at risk in almost every question on the survey compared to state results. “We’re concerned about the female statistics particularly because they are drastically different from the boys and that is concerning,” school nurse Jenny Anderson said before the discussion. Any of the state’s public schools that complete the survey are invited to send a team of students to a one-day training part of Getting to Y, an initiative led by an organization called UP for Learning in collaboration with the state’s health and education departments. Students learn how to organize survey data and present an executive summary of findings with three areas of strengths, three areas of concern and an action plan. This was Springfield’s first time attending the training in recent memory. About 10 students were involved in interpreting results and analysis. Students said a poor home life with parents not getting involved could be causes for Springfield’s numbers. They also said lack of student self-worth, too much social media and peer pressure could be factors. Students collected suggestions from the community to better Springfield’s numbers. The attendees said sex education should start earlier than high school. They also said there should be more recognition for student accomplishment. Nearly every high school and middle school in the state participated in the 2015 survey — which has the most recent data available. Survey results from the combined 34,686 middle- and high-school students showed fewer students were using drugs and alcohol, but the number of students feeling sad or hopeless was on the rise statewide. Twenty-four percent of the state’s high-school students said they felt sad enough to stop doing usual activities while 20 percent of middle-school students reported the same — an 18 percent increase for the middle from the 2013 survey and a 21 percent increase for high school students. School nurse Anderson this was just the start of the conversation in Springfield. While students continue to examine results, a group involving area health and social services organizations is reaching out to communities and asking them to respond to a survey that asks about the availability of help for those suffering from alcohol or drug abuse issues. The survey was initiated to understand why those who have seen a health service provider for a substance use problem aren’t seeking treatment. The survey opened March 5 and is open to anyone in 23 towns across southern Windsor and northern Windham counties.