On the Friday edition of the Tim Collins show the Principal of the Hastings Middle School, Mark Zuzek provided some information about the recent Snapshots on Minnesota Youth report which is a survey taken by students in 2016 that were in grades 5, 8 9 and 11. The purpose of the survey is to track specifically selected categories gauging the health, safety, engagement and support perceived by those responding to the survey.The Minnesota Student Survey is conducted every 3 years and students in grands 5,8, 9 and 11 completed the survey in 2016. The outcome of that 40 question survey has been released, giving educators a better understanding of how students view their school experience. Question topics ranged from out-of-school activities, emotional health, substance use, and overall engagement in school to provide a whole child report. Some of the key findings for the overall state view include data that 69 percent of all respondants said they had excellent or very good health while nearly 18 percent reported long term mental health, behavioral or emotional problems. A possible trend is noted that between the 2013 and 2016 surveys, an increase of between 5 to 7 % in students reporting mental health issues. Results for the next survey year, 2019, will be needed to detect a true trend in this category. In the health category,the findings for state totals list nearly 50 percent of students eat fruit at least once per day, with just 40 percent eating vegetables once per day. About half of the state student responses list at least 60 minutes of physical activity engagement 5 days per week. In a related category, students in grades 8,9 and 11 were asked to fill in their height and weight. Those numbers were then calculated into a Body Mass Index. The report showed that, based on that BMI, and using current standards, 23 % of students in grade 8 were either overweight or obese, in grade 9 that rose slightly to 24% and in grade eleven, another increase to 25 %. In newscasts this week, we’ll reveal more of the results released in the Minnesota Student Survey and compare local results with those of the Minnesota numbers.
