by KIM HILSENBECK
The results of a risk behavior survey conducted among Hays CISD high school students in May 2012 were released publicly for the first time last week.
Modeled after the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) conducted annually by the Centers for Disease Control, the Hays CISD version was conducted by district staff and distributed during health classes. The findings gave administrators insight into more than 3,000 high school students’ behavior on a variety of risk factors including diet and exercise, sexual activity, seat belt use, driving under the influence, illegal drug use, violence, bullying, depression and suicidal thoughts.
Yet when the subjects are high school students – notorious for risky behavior and poor choices – how much does Hays differ from other districts?
The top two health and wellness employees at Hays CISD conducted a comparison analysis of the survey with data from the YRBS at the state and national levels. The results indicate Hays CISD students are engaging in risky behavior in several key areas – drug and alcohol use, depression and thoughts about suicide, violence, bullying, sexual activity – at higher levels than students in other areas of Texas and the country.
Earlier this spring, the Hays Free Press requested the survey data, the summary report and questionnaire. District officials initially said they were not yet ready to make the study findings public – they wanted to develop a plan for how to address what appear to be sensitive issues.
Members of the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), which includes parents, community members, counselors, and medical and health professionals, recommended the district implement the survey. The SHAC provides guidance on student health issues to district leadership – the committee was instrumental in the implementation of many of former superintendent Jeremy Lyon’s wellness-based initiatives.
The SHAC recommended releasing the report.
The district posted the findings on its website last week under the Health Services section. An introduction to the survey results reads, in part, “The survey reveals some information that is difficult to discover. However, since the survey reflects the risk behaviors in which students say they are participating, the information is important to have – particularly if the district and community will have an impact in reducing risk.”
It continues, “It is important to note that the issues identified in the survey data are issues that will be addressed on a community-wide scale, not just by the school district because many of the risky behaviors occur after and away from school.”
According to the findings, some of the problems happen during school, including bullying and drug use. Other behaviors, such as driving under the influence and engaging in sexual activity, happen off school grounds and after school hours.
Had the district released the report findings months earlier, would the knowledge have prevented any of the recent tragic events in the Buda/Kyle area involving current and former high school students? Would the data have prevented teen pregnancies or drug use?
In April, a hit-and-run accident near the intersection of 1626 and Kohler’s Crossing that killed Kyle resident Phillip Duran is still being investigated by the Kyle Police Department. Their work led to the questioning of a Hays High student. Toxicology and other forensic results are not yet available.
More recently, a former Hays High student was involved in a head-on collision that was reportedly his fault for crossing the yellow line on FM 1626 in an early morning crash. Toxicology reports are not yet available. That young man is still in critical condition with severe injuries.
The Hays CISD survey data showed that about 45 percent of students surveyed said they had at least one alcoholic drink in the 30 days prior to the survey. Nationally, that number is 39 percent. In Texas, it’s 40 percent.
The Hays CISD data also showed that 27 percent of students reported having five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours on at least one day during the last 30 days. The national and statewide figures are 22 and 24 percent, respectively.
About eight percent of students said they had at least one drink on school property at least one day out of the last 30, compared to about four percent in Texas and five percent nationally.
Last week, a middle school student who was reportedly being severely bullied, was supposedly rushed to the hospital and put on life support after a family member found him; he later died. The official cause of death has not been released.
The district’s youth risk survey indicates the percentage of students who report being bullied, being threatened or injured by a weapon on school grounds in the past 12 months is 21 percent, which is about the same as the national data. In Texas, it’s 17 percent. About 16 percent of Hays CISD students reported they were electronically bullied, generally referred to as Cyberbullying. The national and state figures are 16 and 13 percent, respectively.
But the rates of feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row (33 percent), seriously considering suicide in the past 12 months (17 percent), planning suicide in the past 12 months (16 percent) and attempting suicide one or more times (13 percent) are higher than both the state and national levels – in some cases, the difference is more than negligible.
According to staff at the Hays CISD Pregnant and Parenting (PEP), this school year alone, four middle school girls had full-term pregnancies. The PEP is a dropout prevention program for high school students who are pregnant or who have children.
According to the survey results, 53 percent of Hays CISD high school students are sexually active, which for purposes of the survey excludes having intercourse. Just over half of students reported they ever had sexual intercourse. About a quarter of students said they were 14 or younger when they had sexual intercourse for the first time.
The report says Hays CISD high school students are at comparatively high risk in the areas of:
• Seat belt use
• Alcohol consumption on school property
• Early initiation of sexual activity
Drinking soda daily, not eating vegetables and Asthma were also listed as high risk areas.
To read the report, click this link.
Girl Talk/Boy Talk
As a means of starting the conversation about sexual activity, Hays CISD teamed with community partners to develop a forum called Girl Talk/Boy Talk, modeled after a similar program developed by San Marcos CISD. The goal was to ignite the discussion about the birds and the bees in an informal, comfortable environment.
Earlier this month, Hays CISD organized two different evening sessions for parents and their middle school students to attend a Q&A session with a panel of local experts, one for girls, one for boys.
The forums, held at Seton Medical Center Hays, offered audience members the chance to text their questions about sexual development and responsibility to the panelists.
Katie Campbell, the PEP coordinator for the district and member of the SHAC, was one of the key organizers of the events. She reported that 44 girls and parents – mostly moms – attended Girl Talk; 22 boys and parents – also mostly moms – attended boy talk.
The Girl Talk panelists were: Erica Gallardo, Program Manager Communities in Schools (Live Oak Academy); Dr. Karyn Collins, Pediatrician, Pediatric Junction; Karen Thompson, Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church; and Kelly Stone, Health Educator at Texas State University
The Boy Talk panelists were: Dr. Michael Grady, Pediatrician, Corridor Primary Care; Charles Vestal, Director of Development and Community Partnerships, Hays Caldwell Women’s Center; Paul Goeke, Pastor, The Well; Eddie Reyes, Project Facilitator, Strengthening Relationships Strengthening Families, Texas State University
In both sessions, Campbell said seventh graders were the largest part of the audience. Overall, she said the sessions were successful in terms of attendance and usefulness. Both parents and students sent questions to the panelists.
Some of the questions asked, in the language used by the questioner, included:
1. What age is it okay to have sex?
2. Can a girl get pregnant before she starts having her period?
3. How do I answer my friends if they keep pressuring me to have sex with my bf?
4. What could I say to a boy who wants to have sex and I don’t want to?
5. How could someone like teens handle stress, depression, and sex?
6. My bf asks me to send pictures of me naked…I want to…Should I?
7. Can boys be abused or sexually assaulted in a relationship?
8. How do I know if I am ready for sex?
9. When and how do I bring up the sex talk? And how do I tell my kid to wait?
