Juneau — Secondary school leaders told a joint education committee on March 31 that Alaska students report high levels of anxiety and sadness, that suicide rates and mental‑health needs remain acute, and that limited counselor and social‑work staffing leaves schools vulnerable.

Rick Dormer, principal of Ketchikan High School, cited state Department of Health figures and local youth surveys: in his district’s 2022 youth risk behavior survey, 37 percent of Ketchikan High students reported feeling so anxious for two weeks in a row that they could not do normal activities; 41 percent reported feeling so sad or hopeless they stopped usual activities. "A student feeling this way is gonna have a very difficult time learning," Dormer said.

Dormer framed mental‑health staffing as both a safety and academic issue: the American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students per counselor, but national averages are higher and many Alaska schools fall short. Ketchikan High, he said, has two counselors for 500 students, while many other schools in the state have none.

Why it matters: Dormer linked chronic absenteeism, mental‑health distress and the loss of long‑term staff to diminished school safety and lower student achievement. He recounted that in the prior month his district experienced a teen suicide death and another attempt requiring air transport.

What districts are doing: Dormer described federal grant support—for example, a SAMHSA grant funding a social worker at his high school—and local efforts to lock doors, use cameras and provide emergency apps to staff. He stressed that long‑term staffing continuity and positive relationships between students and staff are crucial to prevention, and that when schools lack consistent adults who know students, warning signs are more likely to be missed.

Policy implications and requests: Dormer and other witnesses asked for investments that strengthen social‑emotional supports, increase counselor and social‑work staff, and stabilize leadership and teacher staffing so positive relationships can be built and maintained.

Evidence: The mental‑health and safety discussion began with Dormer’s presentation on teen suicide rates and local survey results (topic intro) and continued through committee questioning about the nature of student fears and district supports (topic finish).