Pubdate: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: http://www.stltoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418 Author: David Hunn Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) CBC WEIGHS DRUG TESTING OF TEACHERS AND STAFF One of St. Louis' largest Catholic boys schools is considering mandatory drug-testing for its teachers, board members and staff, a plan that could become the first in the area and one of just a few in the country. Leaders at Christian Brothers College high school in Town and Country emphasized that they have just begun discussing the idea. It follows closely a decision to begin drug testing students at the start of next school year. CBC's principal, Brother David Poos, said he has much to do before anything is decided, including getting formal input from his staff. But he said he had not heard resistance from teachers so far. "Many have said, 'Let me be the first,'" he said. "I've said that." National education leaders, however, were concerned by the precedent. Teaching, they said, is a profession that has long enjoyed a reputation for virtuous behavior. A move like this could corrode the relationship between teacher and student. "I would be upset if we had to come to something like that," said Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Education Association. She said she had not heard of a similar plan in the United States. "We know our teachers better than that. We trust our teachers more than that." Poos insisted that CBC leaders aren't looking at the idea in response to drug abuse among teachers. It's more a show of solidarity with students, he said - adults setting an example for students. CBC decided last school year that it would begin random, mandatory drug testing of all 1,100 students in the fall of 2007, the first such program in the metro area. As the school sought feedback on the idea, several parents asked if teachers and staff members would be tested, too. Poos wasn't sure if all the requests were serious, but he said the school began to consider the idea anyway. Over the summer, leaders called other schools with similar plans. Then, at CBC's August orientation meeting, Poos told his staff to anticipate a discussion on the issue this year. Last week, the school's teacher committee sent an e-mail surveying all teachers. The school has not decided how teachers would be tested, nor the consequences of a positive test. But Poos imagined it would be the same as the student plan: hair samples from all of CBC's roughly 120 staffers would be taken. Each staffer would be tested at least once during the year; some would be chosen randomly to be tested again. Unlike with students, if teachers were caught, they might not get a second chance, Poos said. Teachers who tested positive could be fired. Holding on to them could cause legal trouble, he said. The school's lawyer is now studying that issue, among others. CBC board chairman John King said the decision could be made as soon as the next board meeting, at the beginning of November. Several parents and students said they liked the idea. "Worst that could happen is a teacher who shouldn't be teaching gets caught," CBC senior Tommy Daher said. "And that'd be a good thing." His father agreed. "I think it's a fair deal," said Thomas Daher Jr. "It shows solidarity." Besides, he said, it makes parents feel good to know the teachers are clean, too. CBC teachers would not comment publicly. Poos had asked them to refer reporters' questions to him. But at least one local educator said it wouldn't bother him. "I can't speak for all the teachers," said Duane Lund, a longtime math teacher now at Trinity Catholic High in Bellefontaine Neighbors, and a union officer for the St. Louis Archdiocesan Teachers Association. "But we're working with students every day. I could see a parent being concerned," he said, especially in light of recent news reports of teacher malfeasance. CBC leaders know of two other school systems that have similar plans in place. Representatives from both said drug-testing teachers has been a good example for their students. "We walk the talk," said Ann Slaughter, drug coordinator for the Diocese of Peoria School District, which has tested staffers at six high schools for seven years. "It works. That's all I can say." But other parents and educators aren't sure the step is necessary. Leonard DeFiore, a past Catholic schools superintendentand now a professor of education at the Catholic University of America in Washington, worries that drug testing teachers is just one more example of an increasingly suspicious society. It reminded him of prenuptial agreements and signed business contracts, he said, of airport weapons checks and no-hug public school policies. "We're saying, in effect, we can't take your word on it," DeFiore said. And this act, he warned, could change CBC. "It redefines relationships," he said. "It becomes part of the curriculum, in effect teaching everyone, 'This is what life is.'" Poos understands that view. It is a shame, he said. But if drug testing makes his students safer - his school better - he wants it at CBC. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek