Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jun 2001 Source: Citizen, The (NH) Copyright: 2001, Geo. J. Foster Co. Contact: http://www.citizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1408 Author: Bea Lewis Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) I-L STUDENT SURVEY RESULTS RAISE EYEBROWS MEREDITH - In a one-month period, 120 Inter-Lakes High School students have ridden in a vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking. During the same timeframe, 68 Inter-Lakes students reported driving a vehicle after they had been drinking. Ninety-eight percent of the 91-member graduating class reported having used tobacco, alcohol or marijuana. These findings, part of a Youth Risk Behavior Survey, raised both eyebrows and some concerns when they were released during a Tuesday night school board meeting. "This is not only a youth problem - it is a community problem. It's easy to blame our students when it's the adults who set the example and change the norm. Prevention must become a community priority, a state priority, our priority," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Scott AndersEn. The survey was administered in January to students in grades nine through 12. Approximately 285 students, or 71 percent of the school's total enrollment, participated. Fifty-four percent of the respondents were girls and 46 percent boys. Statewide, 33 high schools participated in the survey which assesses risk behaviors among teens including the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Survey participants are given anonymity in an effort to increase the likelihood of truthful responses. Before the results of the survey were detailed, the school board heard from Center Harbor Chief of Police Andy Faller. His department broke up an underage drinking party on June 15 and discovered that the bulk of the party-goers were Inter-Lakes students. Because the party occurred on the Friday night of Motorcycle Week, Faller said, police resources were stretched thin and he was unable to call for backup. The party-goers were ultimately released without being charged. On Tuesday, Faller urged the board to consider changing the date of graduation to prevent it from coinciding with Motorcycle Week. Shifting the ceremony to a different date would also make it easier for out-of-town family coming to attend graduation to find a motel room, he said. School Board member Diane Drenkhahn said changing the date would also allow graduates to enjoy dinner out with the parents. During the height of Motorcycle Week, reservations at area restaurants are at a premium, she lamented. Faller expressed his willingness to work with the School Board to explore selecting a different date for graduation and to take proactive steps in addressing the issue of underage drinking. "Everyone needs to work together, and I don't think there is any benefit of pointing fingers," Faller commented. Currently, AndersEn said, the date of graduation is set based upon the start of the school year. Seniors are allowed to complete five fewer days of classes than the rest of the district, making their last day fall on the first Friday of Motorcycle Week. Possible solutions could include starting school either earlier or later, or cutting some of the vacation time now built into the calendar, the administrator said. If graduation were held prior to Motorcycle Week, Andersen cautioned that one of the potential consequences could be awarding diplomas to students who ultimately don't meet the graduation requirements. School Board Chairman Carolyn Schoenbauer recommended the issue be added to the board's next agenda to allow time for the necessary planning that would need to accompany such a change. In detailing the risk survey, AndersEn said, he is especially concerned by the high percentages of alcohol use among the senior class. Some of the most telling statistics, he said, show that in all but the 10th grade, high school student's use of alcohol in the month preceding the survey outpaced both the state and national average. And binge drinking, characterized as five or more drinks within the past month, was also above the state and national average, accept in the ninth and 10th grades. Other startling statistics, cited by AndersEn include that six percent, or 25 students had consumed alcohol on school grounds in the month prior to the survey. Similarly, 11 percent or 40 students reported smoking marijuana on school property, last December. "The statistic that just turns my stomach is the age of initial use," AndersEn told the school board. The survey shows that students as young as the fifth grade have used both alcohol and drugs and that by the time they reach the high school, 63 percent of girls have used them and 70 percent of the boys. Board member Carl Johnson asked Andersen whether he felt the survey results were an accurate representation of substance use at Inter-Lakes. "I think these are hard numbers," the administrator responded. He believes a contributing factor to the problems identified by the survey is that the Meredith area is a tourism Mecca where people come to relax and have a good time. "That's what our youth growing up are seeing and partaking in," said Andersen. But Business Administrator Christine Hayes said she believes the addition of a School Resource Officer and a Student Assistance Counselor may be helping students to "own-up" to their substance abuse, while in past years students denied they had a problem. Johnson, who also serves as a state Senator said it's discouraging to see state government and private foundations pour millions of dollars into the substance abuse problem, yet see so little results. "It's going to take our communities putting our arm around the problem. Loving arms and tough-love arms and it's absolutely imperative that we work together - the school board, the police departments, the selectmen - and tackle this head on. We begin with awareness and an action plan," AndersEn said. "I'm so glad that we're facing up to this in a honest way," commented school board member Lee Webb of Sandwich. The youth risk survey can be found on the district's Web site at _ HYPERLINK "http://www.inter-lakes" _www.inter-lakes.K12.nh.us. More information about teen substance abuse can be found at _ HYPERLINK "http://www.newfutures.org" _www.newfutures.org - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager