Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2003
Source: Federal Way Mirror (WA)
Contact:  http://www.fedwaymirror.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2077
Author: Kenny Ching

SCHOOLS TARGET DRUG USE

Between grades six and 12, a student's probability of abusing harmful 
substances increases significantly, according to a recent survey.

Federal Way Public Schools, seeming to put into practice the adage that an 
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, is focusing much of its 
efforts on preventing students from getting involved in drugs, alcohol or 
tobacco, rather than trying to pull them out after they've been sucked in.

A state survey measured Washington students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th 
grades and found that from one level to the next, significantly more 
students were abusing harmful substances.

The state numbers are fairly representative of Federal Way, said Pat 
Smithson, school district health coordinator.

For tobacco use in a 30-day period, 2.2 percent of sixth-graders smoked, 
9.2 percent of eighth-graders smoked, 15 percent of 10th-graders smoked and 
22.7 percent of 12th-graders smoked =AD=AD a tenfold increase in six years.

For alcohol use in a 30-day period, 3.8 percent of sixth-graders drank. The 
percentages rose to 17.8 percent among eighth-graders, 29.3 percent in 10th 
grad and 42.8 percent in 12th. That's a more than tenfold increase in six 
years.

For marijuana or hashish use over a 30-day period, 1.3 percent of 
sixth-graders used those drugs, compared to 10.4 percent of eighth-graders, 
18.3 percent of 10th-graders and 24.7 percent of 12th-graders used.

The correlation between increased use along with age has to do with the 
greater independence of youth. Once students turn 16, they begin driving 
and are left more to do what they want and have less supervision, Smithson 
said.

"There is no inherent desire" to abuse harmful substances, Smithson said. 
"But there is so much peer pressure if their friends are using or if they 
are with someone who is experimenting. And some kids live in households 
where parents are using.

"Some get hooked and don't know how to get off. Others are happy doing it, 
whether it's because of the feeling it gives them or the acceptance."

Smithson said there is help for kids who want to get away from harmful 
substances. The best person to begin talking to is a school counselor who 
can begin the process of getting students and parents in touch with 
resources, she said.

However, the schools are focusing the bulk of their efforts in prevention.

"The more knowledge you give fifth and sixth-graders and middle-schoolers 
the more likely it is you can prevent experimentation," Smithson said.

In fact, prevention is becoming recognized as a science, said Michele 
Haymond, prevention resource coordinator for the Puget Sound Education 
Service District.

When attempting to prevent harmful behaviors, experts look at factors that 
make a child more likely to fall into such behaviors (called risk factors) 
and factors that are likely to help a child stay out of such behaviors 
(protective factors). Examples of risk factors include a history of 
academic underachievement, a household in which a parent smokes, or a bad 
neighborhood. Examples of protective factors are an absence of friends who 
smoke or a caring parent at home.

Haymond is working in Illahee Junior High School in the Federal Way 
district. She typically does a three-year project in a school. The first 
year, she assesses a school's problems and needs. In year two, she 
implements programs to address the school's goals, such as decreasing the 
number of rule infractions by students or increasing parent involvement. In 
year three, programs continue and their success is assessed.

One challenge such efforts always face is funding; another is parent 
involvement, according to Haymond.

Another expert said that one barrier between greater parent involvement in 
such programs is that parents often don't realize the importance of their role.

"Children want parents to create boundaries to show they care," said Trise 
Moore, the Federal Way district's advocate for family/school partnerships. 
"Parents can say to their kids, `I want to know where you're going and what 
you're doing.'"

According to the health survey, dramatic increases in unhealthy behaviors 
take place in eighth grade.

Around eighth grade is when parental involvement starts to decrease, Moore 
said.

"Eighth graders are crying out for parental involvement," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens