AMERICAN FALLS — Much of our lives are digital now, laminated flipbooks replaced with scrollable folder icons. Phonebooks replaced with contact icons. You can even play Monopoly, Scrabble or Settlers of Catan with friends from all over using the phones and tablets that have become integral for both work and play.

Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, a new initiative aims to redirect the gaze of local families, encouraging students and parents to spend a little less time looking down at their screens this school year and a little more time looking up at one another.

According to American Falls School District Superintendent Randy Jensen, the new districtwide initiative called Look Up AF grew out of a Healthy Minds survey, completed by students at William Thomas Middle School, American Falls High School and American Falls Academy during the 2025-26 school year.

In a news release issued this week, Jensen said district leaders sat down with the results and found clear links between student mental health and factors like sleep, family support, stress and time spent away from screens.

"The purpose of asking students these questions is to listen to what they're telling us and then do something with that information," Superintendent Randy Jensen said. "There were things in these results that told us very clearly that relationships, sleep and connection need to be priorities for us."

A particular result sparked concern among district leaders in that only 53 percent of students reported having an adult they could talk to about important things. Nearly 40 percent said they didn't feel able to talk with their family.

Further, the survey revealed a sharp relationship between sleep and mental health.

Though new studies have cast doubt on the 19th century notion that a person needs eight hours of sleep to offset eight hours of work and eight hours of leisure in a single day, the results of the 2025-26 Healthy Minds survey are striking.

Among students who reported getting at least eight hours of sleep a night, 11 percent reported suicidal thoughts, the superintendent's news release said, adding that the figure climbed to 53 percent among students sleeping four hours or less.

Similar to sleep, the figures surrounding social connection were also significantly different.

Roughly 8 percent of students who reported strong social ties experienced suicidal thoughts. That number climbed to about 78 percent among students who reported being socially isolated. Depression followed the same pattern with family support, stress levels and self-awareness, the release said.

Students on the low end of the measure in each case reported depression symptoms at three to six times the rate of their peers on the higher end.

While the survey doesn't explicitly prove any single factor causes depression or suicidal thoughts, district leaders are looking to inform families that it does identify opportunities where schools and families can take a proactive approach to avoid the "what-if" uncertainties altogether.

Jensen said the thinking behind the initiative is aimed at parents, adults or guardians as much as it is for kids.

"We spend a lot of time talking about how much kids are on their phones, but parent screen time matters too," Jensen said. "As parents and grandparents, we need to ask ourselves whether we are missing opportunities to read, talk and play with our kids because we are looking at our own phones."

Sleep is one of the first areas the district wants families to rethink and prioritize.

American Falls High School Principal Travis Hansen said one of the simplest changes a family could implement is the removal of electronic devices from bedrooms, or at least arm's reach, at night.

"One family shared a practice that I think is incredibly powerful: every phone in the house, including the parents' phones, is collected at 9 o'clock each night," Hansen said. "The phones aren't sitting beside the bed buzzing and lighting up all night. Everyone gets a chance to disconnect, rest and be ready for the next day."

Community School Coordinator Andrea Clinger said the "reconnect" half of Look Up AF matters just as much as the "disconnect" half.

"When we say disconnect, we aren't just talking about turning something off," Clinger said. "We want families to think about what they can reconnect to — a conversation around the dinner table, a walk together, playing a game, serving someone or simply spending time together without a phone competing for everyone's attention."

Throughout the school year, Look Up AF will roll out themes around physical health, sleep, mindfulness, family time, personal connection, conflict management and play.

At William Thomas Middle School, Community School Coordinator Angela Warth said families don't need to overhaul their routines overnight to see a difference.

"Maybe you start with dinner without phones, one screen-free evening each week or putting the phones away an hour before bedtime," Warth said. "Those little choices create opportunities for conversations that might not happen otherwise."

The initiative also reaches down to the district's youngest students. J.R. Simplot Elementary Principal Michelle Anderson said building connection doesn't require much.

"Some of the best things we can give children don't cost anything," Anderson said. "Talk with them. Read with them. Play a game. Go outside. Ask them about their day and then really listen to the answer. Those moments build relationships and let children know they matter."

Students across the district will have the option to take the Healthy Minds survey again in the 2026-27 school year, with parent permission required, and the district plans to compare the results against this year's baseline to track whether Look Up AF is moving the needle.

For now, Jensen said the goal is pretty straightforward.

"We aren't asking families to throw away their phones," Jensen said. "We're asking all of us to occasionally put them down and look up. Our children are growing up quickly, and we don't want to look back someday and realize that a screen got too much of the time that could have belonged to each other."