When the Board of Education meets tonight (Thursday, November 21, 7 p.m., Staples cafeteria), they’ll receive 2 reports.
One describes what happens in the classroom: standardized testing, college acceptances and more, for Staples High School’s Class of 2024.
The other tells what happens outside of school: the most recent youth survey of students in grades 7-12.
Let’s begin with the seniors, who graduated in June.
The 426 graduates are attending 176 different post-secondary institutions. The overwhelming majority — 93.1% — are in 4-year colleges.
Another 2.1% are in 2-year colleges. Just 0.5% are at post-grad, vocational or other higher education institutions.
1.7% of the Class of ’24 are taking a gap year. 0.9% entered the military. 1.6% went directly into the workforce, or are classified as “other.”
The Top 5 college in terms of attendance are Syracuse University (14 current Staples freshmen), the University of Connecticut (including regional campuses — 12); the University of Colorado (11), and Indiana University and Northeastern University (10 each).
The top 5 college in terms of applicants from last year’s seniors: UConn (152 applications), Indiana (85), Pennsylvania State University (81), the University of Colorado (76) and Elon University (64).
28% of students applied for local or community scholarships. 13% said they intended to play an intercollegiate sport. 7% said they applied to a visual or performing arts program.
40% of students submitted test scores to all colleges. 26% submitted some. 34% did not submit test scores to any college.
The 3 most important factors in the college search and selection process were academic programs, location, and activities/campus life, students said.
In terms of standardized testing, the composite mean ACT score was 29.3. The total mean SAT score was 1229.
Last spring, a total of 577 students (including non-seniors) took a total of 1,338 Advanced Placement exams. The mean score was 4.3.
So what happens outside beyond the school day?
Last February, Westport’s Departmentn of Human Services and Positive Directions sruveyed a random sample of students in grades 7-12. Among the findings:
Use of alcohol, cannabis and vaping has decreased since the 2021 survey. Other substance use (tobacco, misues of prescription drugs) remains minimal, at 1%.
Substance use rates are “particularly low at the middle schoo level, and remain low through 10th grade.”
The “large majority” of high school students do not report any substance use. According to the survey, 75% of Staples students do not drink; 91% do not use cannabis, and 92% do not vape.
Most Westport teenagers 16 and older do not drive under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, the report found. However, 8% report that they have ridden with a driver under the influence. And 12% have texted while driving.
Fewer than 10 Staples students reported using hallucinogens, meth, heroin, fentanyl, MOMA, cocaine, crack or inhalants.
Students with Individualized Education Programs use cannabis at three time the rate of students without IEPs, and vape at twice the non-IEP rate. In 12th grade, 53% of students with IEPs reported using cannabis.
Alcohol use among Westport seniors is 1.6 times the national rate (38% here, versus 24% nationally).
The report says the local rate “may reflect a common parenting misperception that youth should ‘learn’ to drink before college.”
In 2021, 60% of seniors said that they drank.
Though cigarette smoking in 12th grade is low (4%), it is double the 2% reported in 2021. 5% of students use nicotine pouches.
22% of 7th graders do not believe it is harmful to binge drink 5+ drinks once or twice a week.
15% of 7th gaders do not see vaping nicotine or marijuana as risky.
In 12th grade, 51% of students believe that using cannabis once or twice a week is not harmful.
The report also notes that fewer than 2/3 of teenagers say that their parents “takek steps to prevent youth from accessing or using substances at home.”
54% of youth who drink get their alcohol from an adult family member, with permission.
More than half of students who use alcohol or cannabis do so at their own home, or a friend’s home.
39% of youth who drink do so at home, with a parent or guardian present.
Finally, the report says, “gambling is emerging as a popular risky behavior.” 23% of students have gambled on fantasy or real sports, scratch tickets, online, or poker.
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Pretty ordinary for a “Blue Ribbon” school, I would dare say, with the exception of Staples remaining a “college factory” with a high percentage going on to university. That said, where will the ’24 graduates be in 10 years? That is the real barometer.
trump wants to appoint Linda McMahon from WWF Stamford Ct wrestling fame. There are numerous sexual assault law suits against her and her husband Vince. it’s a perfect choice for Trumps cabinet. Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth plus Trunp have serious issues regarding sexual behavior. Students should research that Trunp Administration wants to control college causes. It’s my opinion as Trump used a fox and right wing media ie Alex Jones Sandy Hook creep to mislead millions of Americans on information. Trump wil now try to control even more misguided poor judgement Americans by controlling college and school curriculum. I have been wrong many times in my life.
Re the following stat “13% said they intended to play an intercollegiate sport”: does that necessarily mean that 13% wound up playing a varsity sport at college (whether it be a D1 or D3 program)?
If so, that seems like a remarkable number. I say that, in part, because I think it’s a lot more competitive and difficult to land a college varsity position than it was more than a half century ago when we played.
For example, if I had been born 50 years later, there is no way I could play D1 soccer today (as I did in the 1970s) and I seriously doubt I would be able to play in a D3 program.
Plus, we had 14 members of our class of 1971 who went on to play college soccer (including one who didn’t play on the Staples varsity soccer team). It seems the norm now is more like one or two players maximum might wind up playing college soccer in any given class.
So that’s why I am surprised by that percentage.
Yeah- today’s young athletes are pretty incredible. In the numbers vs ‘70s- Don’t forget about 50 years of title IX. Women have a place in that percentage. (We still have a way to go) but (thankfully) a different landscape now. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/FINAL6_WSF-Title-IX-Infographic-2022.pdf
Kit, thanks. There’s no question that Title IX has transformed the sports landscape in a massive, positive way since my high school playing days. But I was factoring in Title IX in my calculations. It’s very competitive in both girls’ and boys’ sports in trying to earn a varsity position at the college level. So, to think that, per the stat above, roughly 1 in 7-8 Staples grads is going on to play varsity sports in college is really something.
On the other hand, with what Ben Casparius did this year, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised by anything.
Oh wow- great point. These young athletes really are next next level.
I think that number probably includes playing club sports. My son plays club soccer in college and they play other colleges and universities (even beat a local D1 varsity team!). The expansion of the club sport option has been a welcome development for kids who want to continue to excel at their sport but do not want sports to be a full time job.
I concur Sheri. If it was based “signing day” stats for D1-D3, I did that calculation and it was under 10%. I want to say well under, but I don’t remember. Maybe Dan can give some more clarity here.
I am sure that number includes club sports. Otherwise it is way too high.
Learn to drink before college?
Posted to Fort Benning in 1962, I was mixed in with the West Point class for Infantry Airborne and Ranger training. We went out drinking frequently. I went to Fordham in NYC where the drinking age was 18 so I’d been to numerous beer rackets drove the porcelain bus and had developed a STOP mechanism that told me it was time to quit. Unfortunately the West Pointers weren’t permitted to drink and as a result couldn’t handle their booze. Now these guys had the finest bodies and minds that year but were unhinged in a bar. It was more noise than violence but they hadn’t learned to drink yet.
By the time we got to Ranger School they could drink me under the table 😎🇺🇸
I am impressed that ‘09% are joining the military. Smart. After discharge they get a free ride with stipend at any public university in the USA. I would also question the veracity of the drug, booze use. What 18 year senior is going to admit to that?
Jo Ann,
Good question!!!
I’ve got a better one:
How many 18 year old kids would admit their parents are alcoholics?
When I was a busboy at Mario’s (‘68-‘70) I saw most of my friend’s parents when the Moms would meet the Dads pouring themselves off the bar car.
I was thinking the same regarding self-reporting their (or parental) substance use, but probably was the same in the last poll. The numbers are likely low, but the trends close, with a high margin of error.
Curious if there is any action taken based on the numbers? Or if the release of the survey results is the action.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3eG6qUGJ34?si=4ozZYwzZmoOim-ml&w=560&h=315%5D
According to the report:
Results will be shared with middle and high school leadership teams to create awareness and discuss prevention practices and resources.
Thecoordinator ofo health/physical education will review the findings with health teacher, and discuss possible changes in the health curriculum.
The coordinator of psychlogical services will review the data with mental health staff.
The athletic director will share relevant data with coaches.
The information will be presented to the school climate committees and PTAS, to foster discussion.
A question about gambling has been added to the middle school needs assessment.
Positive Direction will present the data to the Teen Awareness Group for discussion and feedback. TAG will incorporate that information into awareness activities like 9th grade health class presentations, Get Real Day and substance abuse campaigns.
Thanks, Dan!
We are very very very very special here in Westport, Eric. Haven’t you heard? All else does not matter. I wonder how they can justify a 100 million$ elementary school expenditure with those stats?
An SAT of 1229 is only 7 points higher than the average score achieved by students in Mississippi! One can only hope under this new administration, DEI,CRT, drag queen runway shows will soon be replaced by concentration on academic scholarship .
At which school did the “drag queen runway show” take place?
Great question. Quite polite 😎🇺🇸
Well, seriously. She’s referring to something that took place at MOCA, which has absolutely nothing to do with Westport schools.
Why don’t the schools want anything to do with a museum dedicated to contemporary art? Isn’t art and culture important to them? Westport has been a denizen of the arts for at least a hundred years!!!
Man, the haters are out in force tonight! I’m not sure if the negative commenters expect the majority of kids to be matriculating at Ivies or if they’re implying that the schools these kids are going to are unworthy of our admiration, but surely they are aware that (1) competition for spots at all schools has NEVER been higher, and (2) there are a million reasons people choose the institutions they do. And a wonderful thing about being from Westport means that there are opportunities, experiences and connections available to those that work for them that many / most of their peers won’t have.
Re the statistic on the SATs, there are multiple ironies in somebody decrying the state of our academic scholarship while (1) putting their faith in the most intellectually unserious administration in history to fix it and (2) ignoring the regional differences in standardized test taking that are so enormous that they make any comparison pointless.
To wit, per the link below – which does appear to be different data than that referenced above, because rhe score delta is more than 7 points – a mere 1% of HS students in Mississippi even take the SAT, compared to effectively 100% at Staples and in Connecticut broadly. The trends are similar across the southern states well known for their bottom rankings on any measure of educational outcomes, from which one can quite reasonably infer that the only students in those states even taking the test are the best or most ambitious students who need them for consideration at the best colleges. And, lest we forget here in our Westport / northeast / coastal bubbles, we don’t have a monopoly on smart, talented and ambitious kids (see point (1) in my first paragraph).
https://www.ontocollege.com/average-sat-score/
And, just because it’s worth repeating ad nauseam, CRT and drag shows are right wing media bogeymen and are not part of any HS curriculum. Please get new material.
Just noticed that the person whose comment I’m replying to above (name with a bunch of numbers) appears to be the same person blaming (as-yet unbuilt) affordable housing and the “unwashed masses” it apparently attracts for the lice outbreaks in the elementary schools, so I guess shame on me for taking the bait.
Nevertheless, I think the perspective is important and the data informative.
We can all always do better, but Westport and its schools send GREAT people out into a very complicated world. Let’s celebrate that rather than find reasons to belittle their achievements.
Westport used to get kids into the Ivies. Now we spend more and the kids are accepted by colleges with a 74% acceptance rate.
Yes, when the Ivies were exclusively affluent, white and heavily northeastern, students from an affluent, white town in the northeast used to get in at higher numbers; what a groundbreaking observation.
Most self-aware graduates of elite colleges I know are well aware that the standards are far higher and the competition much fiercer now, and in turn the profile that got them in the door 30 years ago very well may be insufficient today. Likewise, and as somebody noted honestly above in the context of playing a sport,, the same goes for participation in extracurriculars, be that athletics, music, or the arts. As another former soccer player who just had the chance to watch the current iteration of my own team play in the NCAA tournament last weekend, I have no shame in saying that team would beat mine 10 or 15 to nothing! The world evolves; either we embrace it and adapt or we spend our time complaining about what is no more.
As to your specific assertion: Staples will be very well represented in the classrooms, performance halls and athletic fields of elite colleges around the country, be they traditional Ivies, top-tier research institutions or leading liberal arts colleges.
So, what exactly is the point you’re trying to make?
James’ response to Caroline is far better than anything I could craft. I agree 100%, and would only add that there are many, many excellent schools far beyond the Ivies.
Nearly every conversation I have about college with classmates from my 1970s eras — and on through the ’80s and ’90s — includes some variation of “I could never get into [insert name of your college] today.” That’s sure true for me. And I’m a proud Staples grad.
With all due respect,Mr.Morgan and Mr.Woog, I would refer you to the Westport Journal article of 11/21/2024 in which angry parents are voicing their concern not only about the head lice infestation but also stating : “Too much focus is put on “social-emotional learning” in the curriculum instead of academic courses like science and math, and that not enough is being done to measure how successful social-emotional curricula are” . Our children deserve better. We must do better. I doubt any parent whose child was accepted by the Ivies would advise him to attend Elon or PSU or Indiana in order to save $20K on tuition . The Ivies are not a playground of the rich and famous nor should acceptance be awarded only to grads of Hopkins or GFA. But given a chance to attend makes all the difference. Just ask JD Vance who overcame humble beginnings to land a seat at Yale .
Caroline, by angry voices you mean you, Sharon and Katerina? We got it. CRT, DEI and pornographic books. As someone said above right wing boogeymen …..
The facts are that the blue Northeast, including CT, are top ranked in our public education system in the country. Red states are at the bottom of the list. Your logic doesn’t pan out. But feel free to move yourself and any progeny to the states that like to ban things like women’s health care and books. We see how that pans out. Women in those states will continue to die not getting healthcare but they will safe from wokeness and drag shows (i.e. education and tolerance)
Ms.MacNeil, again I would direct you to read the Westport Journal article for yourself because apparently you did not wrap your brain around the direct quote I cited. When students in Mississippi score just a few points below SHS on standardized SAT tests something is rotten in Westport. My sympathy is with the Westport parents who have opened their eyes to the harsh reality that their kids do not stand a chance of acceptance to the Ivies unless we begin focusing our attention on the basics of reading,math,science. My progeny attended the Ivies as did I. Trust me, I want ALL students to have the same opportunity because it makes a world of difference.
As noted by James Morgan above, fewer than 1% of students in Mississippi take SATs. Not a valid comparison with Westport.