Pubdate: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 Source: Shore Line Times, The (CT) Copyright: 2006 Shore Line Times Contact: http://www.shorelinetimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3435 Author: Elizabeth Ellis, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SURVEY: MAJORITY OF STUDENTS ARE DRUG FREE, BUT OFFICIALS STILL CONCERNED MADISON - The town will tighten its plan to combat substance abuse, following the release of a drug survey in which one-third of 7th-to 12th-grade students reported drug and/or alcohol use. "It is important that this data is available to us," said Superintendent Kaye Griffin. "We are very proud that 63.2 percent of our students are abstaining from alcohol and drug use, but there is data in these reports that we find troubling." The survey was distributed by the Rocky Mountain Behavioral Science Institute based in Colorado who have put in 15 years of research into the survey. It has been administered to students since 1987 and has been developed and refined using 200,000 adolescents across America. "There were very few parents who objected to having their children take this survey, and students who were absent that day did not participate," said Assistant Superintendent Anita Rutlin. In order to reduce the number of answers that might have been exaggerated or false, Griffin says the schools emphasized that the survey would be completely confidential, and not even the faculty of the schools would see the answers. The Rocky Mountain Behavioral Science Institute upon receiving the survey rejected certain forms that had what was felt to be inconsistent or exaggerated responses. "Only three percent of Madison students had surveys rejected because of exaggerated answers, and only two percent of the surveys were classified as 'inconsistent responders'," says Griffin. "We received good feedback from faculty that the environment during the survey was very quiet and serious." According to the results, alcohol was the overriding substance with the most use and accessibility, with 79 percent of students claiming alcohol is easy to access and alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are the most commonly used drugs among youth in Madison and nationwide. "A surprise to us was the use of alcohol jumps between seventh and eighth grade in our schools," says Griffin. "Under the percentage of students who have tried alcohol, it goes from 14 percent in seventh grade to 34 percent in eighth grade." Vice Chair for the Selectmen's Council on Substance Abuse Mary Beth Golja says though it was sobering to see the results, it is a first step to create more preventative programs to target a younger audience. "We are very excited the survey finally happened and it went much quicker than we thought," says Golja. "It is a way to build awareness in the community." According to the survey, 12.9 percent of students surveyed were categorized as "light alcohol users". This is a low involvement pattern that the institute defines as students who rarely, if ever, get drunk and may have experimented with some other drug but have not continued the use. The results will be shared with the students surveyed in the coming weeks. "I compliment the Board of Education for putting this survey out there," say police Chief Paul Jakubson. "To have 95 percent participation; that is amazing. To the parents and the townspeople, the police will support you in this effort because we ultimately deal with kids that have gone down the wrong path, and that is something we do not want to see." A steering committee involving Madison Public Schools, Youth Service, Committee on Children and Youth, police, and Selectmen's Council on Substance Abuse will create an action plan to combat substance abuse during January and February of 2007, present a preliminary plan to the Board of Education, Board of Selectmen, and Board of Finance between March and April, and conduct community forums to gain feedback and support for the proposed plan in May and June. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman