Survey says Medical Lake students feel safe at school

Bullying is down among Medical Lake Middle School sixth-graders, as is marijuana use at the high school.

These were a couple of trends the Medical Lake School District learned from the results of the 2016 Healthy Youth Survey, which students participated in last October.

The survey, a statewide, collaborative effort between state agencies, including the Office of Public Instruction, Department of Health and Liquor Control Board, is conducted every two years with sixth-, eighth- 10th- and 12th-graders. Many of the questions asked in the survey focus on safety, violence, physical activity, diet and substance abuse. Over 230,000 students from 236 school districts participated in the survey last fall.

According to Kim Headrick, director of teaching and learning, the district primarily focused on three types of questions from the survey: how students feel about school, substance abuse and norms in the community.

In the middle school, there was an increase of sixth- and eighth-graders enjoying school. Headrick attributed part of the increase, as well as the decrease in bullying, to the middle school adopting the Positive Behavior Intervention System program and establishing a student-led PBIS team in 2015. The high school has its own PBIS team, which has helped improve the building’s learning climate.

Above 80 percent of students surveyed felt they were safe in school while more than 90 percent of eighth-graders, sophomores and seniors felt there were more opportunities involved at school through sports and activities. The district reported higher than the state average on a healthy lifestyle — physical activity, eating and sleeping.

In the area of substance abuse, there was a decrease in marijuana use among students — especially at the high school. Headrick said after recreational marijuana use was legalized in 2012, cannabis became “more culturally acceptable” in that students understand it is legal for adults to smoke marijuana, however they cannot do it themselves because they are under 21 years old.

Students also reported that marijuana is harder for them to acquire and they see the dangers of substance abuse.

Headrick said building and administration teams will view the results and use them with staff going forward.

“If we see something that’s alarming and glaring, we would address it,” Headrick said.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.