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What is it like to grow up in Telluride? How can adults support young people? There is not a silver bullet for getting that information, but the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey aims to provide some insight.

“It’s the state’s only comprehensive survey on health and wellbeing for students – middle and high school students specifically,” said Dawn Katz with the Communities That Care Coalition, part of Tri-County Health Network.

“We ask students about alcohol and substance use, marijuana use, vaping. They ask about racism, safety, mental health is a big one, sexual health and violence. Then they also ask things physical activity and safety in school and community,” Katz said.

The survey is administered every two years, most recently in fall 2025, and asks more than 100 questions. In the Telluride School District, 229 high school students took the survey, with 159 middle school students participating.

Questions look into risk factors.

“A risk factor refers to any attribute or characteristic of vulnerability that increases the likelihood of a negative outcome or event,” Katz said.

The questions also look at protective factors.

“[Protective factors] are about strengthening resilience by helping young people manage stress and setbacks. It also reduces the impacts of adversity and influences how a child or young person responds to their challenges,” Katz said.

Katz says the big takeaway is that the kids are alright.

“The big broad picture is that our trends are looking considerably well,” Katz said.

That’s not to say there are not challenges. Katz says substance use remains high among students.

“Our students are drinking at twice the state average, and that has been pretty consistent,” Katz said.

Fifty percent of high school students said they had at least one drink of alcohol in the last 30 days. Katz said marijuana and vaping use went down, but cigarette use went up.

When it comes to sexual and dating violence, the numbers are improving. In 2025, 3 percent of students said they were physically forced to have sex. That is down from 6 percent in 2023. Numbers also went down for students who were coerced or unsure if they consented to have sex and students who were emotionally abused in a relationship.

There were several new questions on the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey. One had to do with the use of oral nicotine pouches. Another asked if students had experienced gun violence.

“It was: had been threatened with a gun electronically or in person, witnessed a shooting where they live, or know someone who has been shot by another person during the past 12 months,” Katz said.

Katz says 8 percent of middle school students and 10 percent of high school students said they had experienced this type of violence.

Another new question asked if students had lived with someone with a problem with alcohol use. Nineteen percent of middle school students said yes. Thirty percent of high school students said yes.

While these questions looked at risk factors, Katz says Telluride students are thriving in protective factors.

“When asked if students had a parent or guardian they could go to for help, 85 percent of middle school students reported they did and 90 percent of high school students said the same thing. That was amazing,” Katz said.

Ninety-nine percent of high school students said they feel safe in their neighborhood, and 98 percent of middle school students said the same.

“Those are all really high responses. Even the state commented in a presentation they gave to the school district about how they’ve never seen protective factors so high. So that was a big time to celebrate,” Katz said.

Katz says it is important to lean into those protective factors and create space where young people can engage with adults and the community in meaningful ways.

“Protective factors, when we increase them, when we create these connections and relationships, they feel seen, they feel heard. Any healthy community has healthy young adults and that’s what we want to do,” Katz said.

The survey data does not give a complete picture or definitive answers on what to do, but it is a starting point: a glimpse into where young people in the community are now and an opportunity to make change.

Full survey data is available at the CTC website, telluridectc.com.