Pubdate: Fri, 04 Aug 2006 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2006 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198 Author: Jennifer Radcliffe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SCHOOL FIRST IN AREA RATED 'DANGEROUS' BY THE STATE But Cy-Ridge's District Calls Label Punishment For Diligent Reporting Of Drug Violations The suburban, middle-class Cypress Ridge High School is the first Houston-area campus to be deemed "persistently dangerous," an emotionally charged label that it earned, in part, for reporting a high number of drug violations. Much to the chagrin of Cypress-Fairbanks district leaders, the high school is one of just five Texas schools to make this year's list. Fewer than 40 U.S. schools were deemed dangerous last year. "The label 'persistently dangerous' is a totally inaccurate reflection of the learning environment at Cypress Ridge," district spokeswoman Kelli Durham said. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, each state has developed a method for designating persistently dangerous schools. Schools tagged with the moniker must notify parents and allow students to transfer to another school within the district. So far, about 90 students have given notice they plan to leave Cypress Ridge before classes resume Aug. 16. In Texas, schools are considered persistently dangerous if they report three or more mandatory expulsion incidents per 1,000 students in each of the previous three years. The rules give equal weight to alcohol violations, assaults, arson and murder. Analyzing the numbersCypress-Fairbanks leaders said their school is being unfairly targeted for aggressively tracking every on-campus violation and for encouraging students to report crime. Other schools with far more notable instances didn't appear on the latest list, which tracks crimes from 2002 to 2005. Nearly 80 percent of the 41 instances that Cypress Ridge reported in the last three years were drug violations, Durham said. In 70 percent of the cases, a student reported the infraction either through Crime Stoppers or to an adult on campus, she said. Among the remaining nine incidents was one case of arson and possession of illegal weapons, including knives and brass knuckles. In a majority of the drug cases, students were caught with a few Xanax or Adderall pills, Durham said. Those medications are used to treat anxiety and attention deficit disorder, respectively, but some students abuse them without a prescription. Students who have a medical reason for taking those drugs are supposed to leave them with the school nurse, and those who don't face disciplinary action, Durham said. "The district questions whether No Child Left Behind had that in mind," she said. "Someone who has one or two pills in their pocket is not like aggravated assault or carrying a weapon." To help address its drug problems, the 87,000-student district will start random testing of teenagers who compete in sports and academic events when school resumes this month. They're also increasing surveillance at Cypress Ridge and continuing other anti-drug initiatives, Durham said. Students transferringSophomore Kouazou Njowo said she's shocked that her seemingly well-regarded school made the list, while others, such as Westbury High School in Houston, where there was a rape and riot this year, didn't. "I've heard of way worse high schools than us," the 14-year-old said. She added that she only witnessed a few fights during her freshman year on campus. Still, the letter that Cypress Ridge sent home July 26 has prompted several of Njowo's friends to opt to transfer to other Cypress-Fairbanks high schools. Students have until Aug. 9 to complete the transfer application. "Everyone's just leaving," she said. Kenneth Trump, president of the Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services, said parents shouldn't be alarmed if their child attends one of the schools on the list. "In my opinion, they should be given an award because it's likely they are most honest in reporting their numbers and tackling their problems head on," he said. "The principal down the street who sweeps it under the rug and doesn't report them looks great, but may have a more dangerous school." School administrators are infamous for grossly underreporting campus violence, he said. This national watch list, which Trump calls the "Scarlet Letter" of education, had many systematic flaws. Most states, for instance, set the required crime level so high that schools face virtually no threat of ever reaching the limit, he said. "The reality is, in most cases, a situation like Columbine wouldn't qualify a school to be on the list," he said. Experts criticize the list Parents certainly shouldn't take this list -- which also includes schools in La Joya, Laredo and Donna -- to be indicative of the most troubled campuses in the state, experts said. But they also shouldn't take the label lightly, said Scott Polland, former director of psychological services in Cy-Fair, who's now with Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. "Rather than attacking the criteria, the schools should just say, 'We know we have had some students that have had some problems and we're going to address this,' " he said. The school should create atask force that includes students, parents and community members to talk about other steps that can be taken to make Cypress Ridge safer, Polland said. Schools are expected to be honest on these reports, though there is little oversight. Still, administrators who do not report all of their infractions could face criminal action if the Texas Education Agency discovers the misreporting, spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said. "It's like any government document, the superintendent's signing off on it and saying it's accurate and true," she said. "We depend on the schools to be accurate." Families should use the data to determine whether to transfer their child to another school, she said. "It's going to be up to the parents. If it's a controlled substance problem, some might find that not as dangerous. Others might find it totally unacceptable," she said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin