Report: 60 Percent of Richfield Grade 12 Girls Admit to Having Sexual Intercourse

According to the Minnesota Student Survey, 60 percent of  Richfield's 12th-grade girls reported having sexual intercourse, which is higher than the state average, according to Emily Thompson, a health specialist for Bloomington Public Health. Thompson presented the survey results to the Monday night.

"In comparison to the state, the [numbers] are higher among the ninth graders and 12th-grade girls and comparable with 12th grade boys," Thompson said. "We saw increases with the ninth-grade girls and the 12th grade girls but decreases with ninth-grade boys and a very slight decrease with 12th-grade boys."

The survey also indicated a decrease in the use of birth control among ninth- and 12th-grade girls.

The Minnesota Student Survey is a collaborative study conducted every three years by the Minnesota Department of Health and Center for Health Statistics, the Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota Community Services. The study is intended to analyze issues facing youth, monitor effectiveness of prevention efforts and assist communities in their response to needs.

"They do really go through the data, because  we don't collect it, we receive it from the state, and so what they do is they take all that data, and they have various algorithms and they pull out any data that would look inconsistent or inconsistent answers and not include that as part of the information," Thompson said.

She also added that about 1.2 percent of all student responses are eliminated due to inconsistent answers.

In addition, the survey also indicated that students who agree or strongly agree that illegal gang activity is a problem at school went down and students felt increasingly safe at school.

While the data is reliable, Thompson said that these numbers should serve as supplemental data and multiple sources of information should be consulted when evaluating student attitudes.

Stay tuned for another story from Richfield Patch about teen pregnancy rates in Richfield.

Other items at the meeting included:

• Pat Burns was commemorated for receiving the Golden Apple Award, a recognition given to those who contribute toward quality athletic opportunities for girls and women of all races, ages and levels of ability;
• Todd Olson, athletic director for Richfield Public Schools presented the extra curricular report;
• Richfield High School student was recognized for receiving the 2010 Athena Award for excellence in athletics;
• The school board received "Richfield Nerd Shirts," which celebrates the district's "nerds" for doing well academically;
• The board unanimously approved the discontinuing teacher contracts and placing teachers on an unrequested leave of absence, .

The next school board meeting is at 7 p.m. April 18 at .