Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2007
Source: Selma Times-Journal, The (AL)
Copyright: 2007 Selma Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1389
Author: Dennis Palmer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

HEADMASTER SUPPORTIVE OF SCHOOL SEARCH

The headmaster of one of the schools involved in a drug  and weapons
intervention program earlier this week said  the program is a good one
and that his school would be  participating in the future.

Dr. Michael Gaylor, who has been headmaster at  Meadowview Christian
School for three years, said he  was first contacted by the district
attorney's office  about participating in the program, the first such
for  his school.

"They came to me that morning and told me they had  planned to do this
at the public schools and they  decided they needed to offer it at the
private  schools," Gaylor said.

"We all want our schools to be safer and after he  explained how it
was going to be run, with an amnesty  box, I agreed to do it."

The amnesty box was put in place for students to  anonymously drop
contraband items in, no questions  asked, prior to the search.

When officers arrived, Gaylor said students were  surprised to see
them, but that the search went as he  thought it would.

"Having people coming in here caused a little  excitement, but I
didn't see any concern on anybody's  part," he said. "I explained to
the faculty and  students that we were doing it to make everyone
safer,  that we weren't doing it to hurt anyone. It made me  feel good
to know we didn't have any drugs or weapons  found here."

Miriam Anderson, who teaches science at Meadowview,  agrees.

"I knew before they got there they weren't going to  find anything."

Anderson said the school's admission requirements state  that students
adhere to a drug and alcohol policy,  including random drug testing.

It also allows for student's lockers or vehicles to be  searched.

"As we are a private school, (law enforcement) needs  our permission
to come on campus and do that, but it's  good that our children know
that they have the ability  to do that with our permission, she said."

Gaylor said he supports his school participating in the  interdiction
program in the future.

"As long as I'm here, I'm enthusiastically supportive  of it," he said.

"There are too many drugs and too much violence in  society and we all
have a responsibility to reduce it  and try to eliminate it."

Meadowview Christian School is a pre-kindergarten  through 12th grade
school in Selma with an enrollment  of nearly 300 students.
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