OUR CHANGING SCHOOLS BY SCOTT LANG

The December issue of The Fairfax News carried an excellent article written by Scott Lang regarding drugs, etc. Chris Santee gave me permission to put this up on the forum as I thought it might not only be of interest to those in the local area, but also to some of our former graduates of BFA. Below is the article in its entirety:

Last month I mentioned that I had planned to write this month about literacy. However, some events over the last two weeks have taken me in another direction to seize a "teachable moment" as we say in our profession. So literacy will be next month's topic. This month, we need to talk about drugs and our community, our school.

A scare over the last few weeks at BFA involved the prescription medication klonopin, a drug prescribed for extreme anxiety and some muscle issues. Several of our students tried the drug, with scary results. Taken for effect, klonopin as a member of the Valium family causes balance issues, slurring, and bloodshot eyes and in some cases can lead to aggressive behavior. Taken in multiple doses as appears to be the case for those we know about, it can cause liver, kidney and brain damage.

In fact, many of our drug cabinets at home have prescription medications, which can be used for illicit reasons. Here is a question: are your medications safe from your children or their friends? Do you throw them out after you no longer need them for their original purpose?

It would be easy for us to dismiss this issue if it were confined to just "those kids" or the "bad kids," but in truth, drugs cross all of our arbitrary groupings of young people and adults. They are present in our community and in our school. Only when the community bands together to confront this issue can we minimize its existence. Only when students decide that they want a safe and drug free school will we make progress in keeping drugs out of school.

I have never met a student who performed better in school while under the influence of any drug. I have met a few who think they do better, but the data suggests otherwise. A study done in a nearby community researching why students drop out of school revealed that over ninety percent of students who dropped out in the year studied-were known users of substances. That is troubling.

Twice in the last six months, I have invited six students each time; two ninth, two tenth and two eleventh grade students to join me for a private lunch to talk about what is really going on at our school. Both times they responded unanimously when asked what the biggest problem in our school was; drugs. These are kids that I don't know excessively well and they are chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the student body. The other thing they have shared with me is that students make the decisions to use or not use, drink or not drink usually in their ninth grade year. Fourteen year olds are making serious life and health decisions.

They also say that they listen carefully to adults they respect including coaches, teachers and parents who give them the message that taking drugs is not OK. Have you said that recently to your child or to a young person you know? Much research documents that the more students are connected to their school through co-curricular activities, the better they do in school and the more likely they are not to be involved with substances. We have been able to support many more opportunities for students through our co-curricular program. But even though more students are involved, they are not immune to substance use.

There are places in our community where kids have access to alcohol and other drugs; places where parents think it is acceptable for kids to be drunk, stoned or whatever if they are not driving or not hurting anyone. Be honest with yourself. Do you allow your kids to attend parties where you do not know the hosts or do not know if adults will be present? Do your kids get phone calls later at night and ask to go out for a while? Has your home been used for such a gathering?

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) given to eighth through twelfth graders indicates some disturbing things about our students and Vermont students in general. In 2005, 53% of females at BFA who drank alcohol in the last thirty days report that some one gave it to them. Also in 2005, 40% of females who are sexually active had used drugs or alcohol before their most recent sexual experience. Draw your own conclusions.

There is hopeful data in the YRSB Report as well. In 2005, 48% of BFA students reported that their parents talked to them about school every day. The percentage of students who drank alcohol in the past thirty days dropped from 46% in 1999 to 31% in 2005. The percentage that used marijuana in the past thirty days dropped from 28% in 1999 to 18 percent ‘in 2005.

We can see the effects of early intervention and education very clearly when we look at how kids perceive the harmfulness of cigarette smoking - 53% perceived smoking as harmful or very harmful in 1999, 70% in 2005. So educating students about the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs would appear to be a good choice for us as a school and us as a community. We currently have a student assistance counselor (SAP) three days per week, One day soon, we are going to have to seriously consider increasing that position which is currently funded by grants and Medicaid, to full time. We are fortunate to have solid student support services through our school social workers, clinicians, guidance and nursing services. Through them we have access to mental health and substance treatment agencies. We can help if you or some one you care about has an issue.

You can help too. Question where kids are going and with whom they will be. Talk to your kids about school and things they enjoy. Talk to them every day. Encourage kids to be involved in co-curricular activities and support 'them hi those healthy choices. Be an adult who listens, who is a role model, who cares. Open your home for kids - homes that are open and supportive of fun, but not alcohol and other drugs. Observe and talk to kids when they come in after being out.

If you have questions or comments about this piece or about BFA Fairfax in general, please call or email me slang@bfafairfax.com .