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Chittenden Central Supervisory Union
Serving the Essex Junction, Essex Union #46, and Westford Schools

EVALUATION

 

Several surveys and measures help us to evaluate the impact of our programs and health of our students.  The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is administered by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and state health or education departments every two years.  The most recent survey results for 2007 are currently through the Vermont Department of Health.   The Health Status of Vermonters 2008 is another measure that gives us a picture of the Health of Vermonters.  This 44-page booklet shows how well our state is doing in key areas, our progress in meeting Healthy Vermonters 2010 goals, and where we stand compared to the U.S. as a whole. It provides an analysis of data and trends through 2005 (generally the most recent available data) that are related to illness and disease, clinical preventive services, health insurance, access to medical care, and personal health behaviors.  For more information or to see the report, go to: http://healthvermont.gov/research/healthstatusreport.aspx

The 2007 CCSU Youth Risk Behavior Survey Highlights

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey measures the prevalence of specific personal behaviors that directly affect the health of our youth.  These highlights are based on a random sample of 1,456 students in grades 8 through 12 at Essex Middle School, ADL Middle School, and Essex High School.  Unless noted, the results given here are statistically similar to the statewide results (within +/- 5%).

Smoking

Alcohol

Violence

Other Drugs

Driving

Sex

Diet & Excercise

Youth Assets

 

Smoking

Cigarette smoking and disapproval of smoking continues to decline. 

  • Students are smoking less than in 1997.  19% of CCSU students report having smoked a whole cigarette vs. 29% statewide.  Only 3% report daily smoking at CCSU.
  • 66% of students report that it is easy to get cigarettes, down from 74% in 1999.
  • 75% of students think it is wrong to smoke cigarettes, up from 57% in 1999.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT SMOKING:

CCSU has received a Tobacco Use Prevention Grant for the past several years from the State of Vermont Department of Health.  CCSU receives free materials and training through the grant to help keep staff current on science-based prevention and intervention strategies and curricula.  CCSU also participates in the annual spring statewide tobacco use prevention media campaign.

  • At Essex High School, posters are displayed throughout the school that raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and promoting abstaining from using tobacco products.   
  • At Essex High School the N.O.T. (Not On Tobacco) Program is available to all students that wish to participate.  N.O.T. is a teen smoking cessation program which is research-based and is run by a trained facilitator.
  • Every Year Essex High School participates in the “Common Theme Campaign.” Last year we focused on product placement and how the tobacco industry slips smoking into Hollywood movies targeting youth.
  • The new attendance policy (zero tolerance/no cut) has worked to minimize student opportunities to leave school to smoke.

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Alcohol

 Alcohol use is rising among seniors at EHS.

  • 53% of 12th graders drank alcohol during the past 30 days, up from 48% in 2005 and more than in 2003.
  • Alcohol use increases across grades.  14% of 8th graders reported drinking in the past 30 days.  That almost doubles in 9th grade to 27%, rises to 33% in 10th and 41% in 11th.
  • 21% of students binge drink (five or more drinks in the past 30 days); 38% of 12th graders reported binge drinking vs. only 8% of 8th graders.

Liquor use is much more prevalent among CCSU students than Vermont students.

Among students who drank in the past 30 days:

  • 53% of females from CCSU reported drinking liquor vs. 45% statewide, and 57% of males vs. 44% statewide. 
  • 29% of males report using beer vs. 41% statewide.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT ALCOHOL:

Essex Police Department delivers the Project Northland curriculum to students at ADL Middle School

  • Essex High School implements a variety of activities to address underage drinking. We do abstinence pledges, with prizes during prom and graduation season in collaboration with MADD Mothers Against Drunk Driving. We have an active chapter of VTLSP/SADD (Vermont Teen Leadership and Safety Program/ Students Against Destructive Decisions) at EHS. We attend the Governors Youth Leadership Conference. We do the “Tie One On” Campaign before the holidays, to remind people to not drink and drive and to use their safety belts. We have a very large Peer Helper Group that work to address high risk behavior by teens.
  • Essex High School has a full time SAP counselor to educate, screen, and refer students with substance abuse issues.  

Violence

 

Females are more than twice as likely to feel sad or hopeless

  • 25% of female students vs. 12% for males reported feeling so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks during the past year that they stopped doing some usual activities.

Reports of physical fighting are about the same from 2005.

  • 27% of students reported being in a physical fight in 2005, similar to 25% in 2007. 
  • 7% of students were hit, slapped, or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
  • 17% of students were bullied.  There was a spike for 11th graders, with 16% reporting being bullied, up from 7% in 2005.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT VIOLENCE:

Essex High School has several programs for teens that promote healthy choices, including conflict resolution and preventing violence: Peer Helpers, VTLSP/SADD, and AWARE group (Always Working At Respecting Everyone).

  • The Guidance, Nursing and Physical Education staff at Westford Elementary School is using Know Your Body, a comprehensive health promotion curriculum for students in Kindergarten through 6th grade.

  • At Westford, Summit, Hiawatha and Fleming Elementary Schools, the staff is implementing the Second Step violence prevention program as well as reading stories that teach students strategies to prevent and react to bullying.  Students also learn to identify emotions and strategies to handle them peacefully.

Other Drugs

Marijuana use is declining.

Dealing illicit drugs is more prevalent on EHS school property than the average school statewide.

  • Students in 8th, 9th and 10th grades all reported a significant decrease in rates from 2005 of reporting having ever tried marijuana.  There was a slight rise among juniors to 44%.  Senior use remained the same at 54%
  • 19% of students used marijuana, down from 1999.
  • Students at EHS were more likely to be offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property during the past 12 months (26% vs. 20% statewide). 
  • Only 8% of 8th graders ever tried marijuana, compared to 14% statewide.
  • 90% of students think their parents think it is wrong for them to use pot.  However, only 66% of students think it is wrong for them.  96% of 8th graders think it is wrong to use marijuana.  By 12th grade, only 50% of seniors think it is wrong to use pot. 

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT OTHER DRUGS:

CCSU and EHS administration, guidance counselors, and SAP counselor work collaboratively with the CHIPS program and the local law enforcement to address these issues.

  • EHS administration has implemented a student identification system, now in its first year of use by students.  Student identification tags help staff to ensure that only EHS students are on the campus.  Also, there are different colors for freshmen and sophomores vs. juniors and seniors to ensure that only upperclassmen are going off-campus during school hours. 
  • EHS administration works collaboratively with the Essex Police Department to handle any illegal activity happening on the high school campus.  The CCSU student handbook clearly details how certain infractions of the alcohol and other drug policy is handled and when the police are involved in resolving an issue.  This policy is consistently enforced at all CCSU schools.
  • See above (Alcohol).

Driving

 

 Driving a car while impaired from marijuana has declined slightly.

  • After a steady rise from 1995 to 2005, there was a slight decline in driving while under the influence of marijuana in 2007.  20% of students rode with a driver who had been using marijuana, compared to 25% in 2005.
  • There has been a steady rise in driving while under the influence of alcohol since 2003.

 Safety belt use is very high.

  • 90% (83% statewide) of students always or almost always wore a safety belt when riding in a car.
  • 94% (87% statewide) of students always or almost always wore a safety belt when driving a car.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT DRIVING SAFETY:

VTLSP does safety belt checks Fall and Spring.

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Sex

 CCSU students are less likely than the average student in Vermont to have ever had sexual intercourse.

  • 30% of students have had sex, compared to 37% statewide.  Only 19% of 8-10th graders report ever having sex.  That number more than doubles to 45% of 11-12th graders. 
  • 66% of students who are sexually active used a condom during their most recent sexual experience.
  • 29% of students who are sexually active use alcohol or other drugs before sex, down from 43% in 2005.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT SEXUAL ACTIVITY:

  • At Fleming Elementary School, Guidance staff talk to 5th graders about puberty to prepare them for the changes they are or will soon be going through.
  • Both Second Step and Know Your Body, which are implemented at CCSU elementary schools, teach students about decision-making and refusal skills, which build a foundation for decisions about sexual activity.

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Diet & Exercise

CCSU students are more likely than students statewide to eat breakfast.

Students at CCSU are less likely than students statewide to drink soda daily

  • 37% of students at CCSU were trying to lose weight, vs. 43% statewide.  Girls were more than twice as likely to be trying to lose weight as boys (52% vs. 22%).
  • 81% of students at CCSU ate breakfast three or more days a week, vs. 74% statewide.  47% ate breakfast everyday. 
  • Only 16% of CCSU students drink one or more glasses of soda daily, compared to 24% statewide.
  • 26% of students participated in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day
  • 36% of students spend three or more hours per school day watching TV, playing video games, or using the computer for At EHS, this percentage rises to 41-44%.
  • One in ten students are spending five or more hours per school day watching TV or playing on the computer.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT NUTRITION AND EXERCISE:

Over the past several years, continual changes have been made to the CCSU menu to increase the nutritional value of the food served.  This menu is served in all CCSU schools but Westford.  Changes include whole grains and low-fat dairy products used in all food preparations, fresh fruits and vegetables offered at all meals and snacks, 100% fruit juices, and lean meats.

  • Students at all CCSU elementary and middle schools have recess or physical education every day.

  • Recess is now held just before lunch, an evidence-based decision that has improved students’ appetites and ability to be calm and focused at lunchtime.

  • School Health Teams conducted a School Health Index in 2006-7 to assess areas, physical education and exercise opportunities, in individual school buildings.  These assessments were then used to focus efforts to address areas in need of improvement.

  • Students at ADL have physical education class every day.

  • Hiawatha, Summit, Westford and Fleming have all had various events at school, both during and after school, designed to raise awareness, educate and engage students and families in improving their nutrition and exercise choices.  For example:

    • In December of 2007, Fleming School is hosting a dance educator for a week.  She is both teaching dance during gym classes and offering various after-school and evening dance programs, including one for staff and one for students and families. 

    • Summit held a Fun Walk in October to raise funds for their playground and provide an opportunity and motivation for students to walk or run.

    • At Hiawatha, Fleming and Summit, Foodplay was presented to all students.  This is a highly engaging presentation that teaches students about healthy eating and activity choices.

    • At Westford, students in K-5 are taught the Know Your Body curriculum, which has specific modules on nutrition/healthy eating and exercise/physical health.

  • EHS has a School Health Team to address these issues.

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Youth Assets

Most parents talk with their kids about school

  • 81% of students said their parents talked with them about school every day or week
  • 78% Students at EHS eat with their parents at least three times a week.  30% ate with their family daily.  However, 9% did not eat even one meal a week with their family.
  • 89% have an adult in their life they can turn to for help and advice.
  • Only 46% of students report that they feel like they matter to people in their community.

WHAT CCSU IS DOING ABOUT YOUTH ASSETS:

  • CCSU partners with Essex CHIPS to address building youth assets in our communities’ youth.  An annual community forum is held that engages youth and adults together in the planning and implementation, and the topic often focuses on building assets, healthy decision-making or healthy lifestyles.

  • In 2002, Essex CHIPS and CCSU partnered to administer the Search Institute’s Profiles of Student Life: Assets and Behaviors survey to students in 6-12 grades.  CCSU and CHIPS are planning to administer this survey again in the spring of 2008.

  • Through the PTOs, school newsletters, and the monthly Linking Health to Learning column in the Essex Reporter, CCSU shares information about individual assets with parents, youth and the community-at-large to increase awareness of the developmental assets and how to support youth to increase their assets.  Past topics have touched on such assets as: caring neighborhood, caring school climate, positive family communication, community values youth, youth as resources, caring, and responsibility.

  • Certain curricula, such as Know Your Body, Second Step and Project Northland, promote some of the developmental assets such as self-esteem, peaceful conflict resolution, resistance skills, and interpersonal competence.

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