Since 2011, Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) has conducted a biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to monitor student health and risk behaviors. The 2023 administration continued this tradition, with MDR providing comprehensive consultation, data analysis, and reporting services to support the district’s efforts in understanding and addressing student well-being.
The YRBS instrument included core questions from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, along with additional items tailored by BPS to reflect local priorities. These covered a wide range of topics, including unintentional injuries, violence and bullying, tobacco and substance use, sexual activity, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, dental health, risk perception, and exposure to trauma. The survey was administered district-wide to all middle and high school students during the fall semester.
MDR’s role encompassed data cleaning, verification, and weighting to ensure the final dataset met CDC standards. The team produced over 60 detailed reports for the district and individual schools, summarizing results for all survey questions and highlighting key findings. These reports were designed to be actionable, helping school leaders and administrators use the data to inform health promotion strategies and improve student outcomes.
In addition to standard reporting, MDR conducted a cross-analysis of high school data to explore the relationship between academic performance and self-reported health behaviors and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The analysis revealed a strong correlation between better academic outcomes and lower levels of risky behaviors, such as substance use, sexual activity, and violence. Students with higher academic achievement also reported greater self-worth and fewer ACEs. At the school level, institutions with higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates tended to report fewer risk behaviors among students.
To further contextualize the findings, MDR integrated academic, discipline, and school climate indicators from the New York State Education Department (NYSED) data dashboard. This holistic approach allowed BPS to align health data with educational performance metrics, supporting a more strategic and data-driven approach to student wellness.
MDR presented the findings to both the BPS YRBS Advisory Board and the Buffalo Public School Board, ensuring that stakeholders across the district had access to the insights needed to guide policy and programming.
