Onalaska HS principal not surprised by stress survey

Generation Z is stressed out.

According to a new study, 15- to 21-year-olds are more stressed than ever before.

Onalaska High School principal Jared Schaffner says results from the Stress in America Survey make sense.

“There’s a pretty steady increase in the number of teenagers that are showing some signs and symptoms of stress, concerns,” Schaffner said. “And, there certainly has been an increase in the level of services that our school and our community has been looking at providing in response to that.”

Schaffner added that they’re making sure teachers are able to help students who are struggling.

“All of our staff are trained in trauma-informed care and a key piece of that is recognizing that it affects everyone differently,” he said. “But, this is what it can look like and here are some of the key pieces to know moving forward as adults to best support that student.”

Schafner says he has seen a big jump in the number of students who have mental health concerns since he’s been principal.

So, how will the school help students that don’t outwardly express the problem?

One way is an anonymous survey, according to Schaffner. The next one will be more pronounced.

We administer a youth risk behavior survey every other year,” Schaffner said. “One of the additional ones that we’ll be asking for permission to survey students about is resiliency and mental health stressors.”