Survey gives officials a glimpse at problematic behaviors in schools

The results of the sixth West Allis-West Milwaukee Youth Risk Behavior Survey gave the School Board information Monday night on everything from how safe kids feel in school to their obesity rate.

Among the findings were that 28 percent of high school boys reported that someone tried to hit, punch or kick them on school property in the past 12 months. Correspondingly, 15 percent said they were threatened or actually injured by someone with a weapon such as a gun, knife or club at school in the past year.

Overall, 45 percent of both boys and girls in high and intermediate schools strongly agreed that harassment and bullying are a problem at school.

But the survey of students in grades 8 through 12 had some positive news, too. One bright ray of hope was that the percentage of students who have tried cigarettes plummeted from 44 percent in 2004, the first year of the survey, to 26 percent in 2011.

The survey had a response rate that varied between 15 and 21 percent of students in each grade.