Meeting Will Address High Stress Among Lexington High School Students

LEXINGTON, MA -- A report that will be reviewed Wednesday night during a joint meeting of the Lexington School Committee and the Lexington Board of Selectmen found that 55 Lexington High School students had attempted suicide in the previous 12 months and that as many as 287, or 15% of the school's population, had considered suicide. Based on the 2,002 students enrolled in the school when the survey was conducted, that amounts to a rate of 2.7% students attempting suicide, which is below the national rate of 8.3%.

But the stress at Lexington High School, which is consistently rated as one of the top school systems in the state, may have dynamics that are unique to the community. While the report by the Lexington Ad Hoc Committee for Youth At Risk found that harassment at school and on social media was the biggest predictor of suicide ideation, it also raised concerns about the general level of stress among students. In a survey conducted for the report, 60% of respondents said they felt "extreme" or "a lot" of stress because of classes, while 83% said the atmosphere of the school encouraged academic competition.

A summary of the report's key findings was included in the agenda packet for tomorrow's meeting; the full report is also available online. The report is not new; it was issued in 2014 and based on surveys conducted in 2013. But it also acknowledged that addressing the issue would take a community-wide effort, prompting Wednesday's joint meeting to address the mental health needs of the community.

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Among the report's key assertions:

• There must be more visible leadership and more effective organization within both the Lexington Public Schools and the Town Government to address stress and youth at risk.
• There should be more coordination between the Town and LPS.
• Some stress is necessary and even beneficial, but much of it is unnecessary. Sources of unnecessary stress include academic, extracurricular, peer, family, and social pressure.
• If students are not subjected to too much stress, particularly unnecessary stress, they will learn more, perform better, and be healthier.
• Reducing stress for students will not compromise academic standards or student achievement.

The report made several recommendations, some of which are likely to be considered by the school committee, the board of selectmen, or both. They include hiring a senior level administrator in the school system to lead efforts to help at-risk students, hiring counselors and conduct community forums to raise awareness of the issue. The report also suggested adding social-emotional learning programs to the school curriculum and offering a wellness program for staff and teachers in the school system.

The report found a slightly higher use of alcohol use when compared to state and national averages among high school students, and that nearly a third of Lexington High School students reported texting while driving. And depression seemed to affect female students more than male students. For example, 34.4% of female students had felt sad or hopeless for a period of two or more weeks, compared to 17.9% of male students. Among female respondents, 20.8% had considered suicide and 12.8% had made a suicide plan, compared to 12.1% and 6.2%, respectively, for male respondents.

Wednesday's meeting will begin at 7 pm in room 237 of the Lexington Community Center.

Lexington High School photo by John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851.