Pubdate: Sat, 09 Dec 2006 Source: Cadillac News (MI) Copyright: 2006 Cadillac News Contact: http://www.cadillacnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3750 Author: Rick Charmoli, Cadillac News A TIME FOR CHANGE: DRUG, ALCOHOL SURVEY SHOW NEED FOR COMMUNITY INTERVENTION CADILLAC - Half the seniors in Cadillac High School said they drank alcohol in the last month. Of those Cadillac seniors who completed the survey, 32 percent admitted to using marijuana. Danette Crozier wasn't surprised by the results, but she hopes members of the community are. Prior to becoming a counselor and Safe and Drug Free Schools coordinator for Cadillac Area Public Schools, Crozier used to work at a prevention and treatment center. She has a degree in substance abuse prevention/intervention and treatment. That's why when the results of a recent drug survey came out showing a majority of CAPS junior high and high school students had at least tried alcohol and drugs, she wasn't surprised. "What surprised me the most about the survey was that I wasn't surprised. The data the survey results showed is very consistent with every high school in the United States," she said. "The hope is that we embrace the problem as a community. It's not just a CAPS problem. It's a Cadillac community problem." WHAT IT SHOWED The rise in marijuana and binge drinking were the two areas that were the most discouraging on survey, according to CAPS Superintendent Paul Liabenow. Liabenow said he would support an initiative that would help to reduce consumption but right now he said he does not know of one that has led to success. The district, however, is still looking. "I was more discouraged to see the numbers are increasing and that leads me to believe we need to try different approaches. If what we are doing today is not working, we need to try new ones," Liabenow said. The statistics in this survey should open eyes, Crozier said. In her opinion, it should do so because about 30 percent of last year's senior class reported drinking at home and their parents were aware of what they were doing. "I understand that some parents are thinking, 'at least they are safe' but adolescents cannot distinguish drinking at home with their parents or at a friend's house," she said. "It's a mixed message. The message to send to teens is it's illegal, harmful and won't be tolerated." Liabenow also said that it is important for people to know that good kids sometimes make bad choices and are entitled to support. Likewise, he said the district and community need parent support to curb alcohol and drug use. "More regular supervision is necessary. As a parent of four I know that it is easier said than done," Liabenow said. "Together, though, I am confident that we can make a difference for our youth." WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS ARE DOING Other schools within the area also are concerned about the use of drugs and alcohol by students. McBain Rural Agricultural School Superintendent Daniel Bachman said the district did not give its students a survey but results of Cadillac's survey were not surprising to him either. That being said, he also said accuracy of surveys such as the one done by Cadillac should be taken into consideration. "Sometimes, I wonder about the accuracy of the survey. It is dependant on how seriously the students take it," he said. "We know it (drugs and alcohol) is an issue. We hear about it all the time. I think it is good special attention is given to the problem." Other districts such as Mesick Consolidated Schools, Cadillac Heritage Christian, Evart Public Schools and Reed City Area Public Schools also did not distribute a drugs and alcohol survey. Some of the reasons for not giving the survey included various programs/speakers already in place as well as size of the school. Although it is currently not giving surveys to its students, Reed City Superintendent Steven Westhoff said giving one would be worthwhile. "Substance abuse is an issue and it already exists in Reed City. I don't know the degree but I assume it changes from year to year," Westhoff said. Lake City Area Schools, however, is in the process of giving two surveys to its students. The first survey focuses on violence and was given to students in grades four through 12 while the second survey focuses on drugs and alcohol and was given to students in grades six through 12, according to Lake City Curriculum Director Carol Thola. "We are trying to get a baseline. It will help us assess and see what programs are needed and let us know how effective our current programs are," Thola said. Thola said the upper elementary, junior high and high schools are all individually administering the surveys. Complete results will not be available until closer to the end of the year. SEEING THE RESULTS Although Crozier and Liabenow shared the results of the survey with the community at a Lunch and Learn program at the Department of Human Services Friday, if a person is interested in seeing the results they are welcome to go to CAPS Central Office, 421 S. Mitchell St., to see them. Your local connection HOW TO START A CONVERSATION AND HOW TO TALK TO YOUR TEENS: - - Keep your best motives in mind: Before talking to your teenager about drugs, pause for a moment and ask the focusing question: What do I really want? This pause can help you get your motives in check and move from simply "keeping the peace" through silence to being a powerful influence on your teen. - - Confront with facts, not judgments: When you present the facts, you obligate your teen to respond to the information. When you use judgments or accusatory language, it appears you intend simply to humiliate or punish, and your teen feels no obligation to engage in the conversation. - - Make it feel safe: State what you don't intend and what you do intend: "I want to reassure you that I have no desire to make your decisions for you, or to cut you off from having a happy life. I want to be supportive of you, and I want to influence choices you might make that I believe will hurt you." - - Make it feel safe: Be flexible about the time of the talk, but not about whether you talk. Control is a huge issue for teens. Sometimes parents provoke an unnecessary confrontation by demanding that conversations be on their terms and their time frame. It's best to try to engage your child in dialogue by respecting their preferences about when to talk. - - Make it feel safe: Create a "safety reserve" by creating safety even when there are no problems. Communicating respect, praising small positive signs, "catching" them when they're being good, and showing an interest in your teen's life will help him or her feel much safer talking to you when problems emerge. - - Discuss, agree on and stick with boundaries: If you talk about rules around curfews, choice of friends, and your expectations of knowing where your teen is before he or she is tempted to make bad choices, it is much easier to enforce them later. Then when boundaries are violated, hold your teen accountable consistently. If it's a boundary, it should always be a boundary. - - Evaluate the dialogue: You're aiming for a two-way, face-to-face conversation that gives your teen room to disagree with you and communicate a different point-of-view. After the conversation, ask yourself who did most of the talking. If your teen didn't do at least 25 percent of it, you didn't ask enough questions - or didn't create enough safety to allow your teen to participate fully. - - The most important thing to remember when it comes to talking about difficult subjects like drinking and drugs: It's not a five-minute "talk" - it's about building an ongoing dialogue. Source: theantidrug.com What people can do: - - First and foremost, parents need to communicate with their children. - - Mentor a students/teen. - - Support local prevention and treatment programs. - - Stay educated on the topic. Source: Danette Crozier, CAPS counselor and Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator. Student use in the last month: - - 50 percent of high school seniors (class of 2006) reported drinking in the past month. - - 35 percent of seniors (class of 2006) reported getting drunk while only 5 percent of eighth-graders and 10 percent of sophomores reported getting drunk. - - 32 percent of seniors reported recent marijuana use - 12 percent higher than the national average. Marijuana trends: - - The number of students using marijuana is increasing. Nearly as many students report using marijuana as cigarettes. - - Students report that getting marijuana is easy or fairly easy to get. Source: American Drug and Alcohol Survey results for Cadillac Area Public Schools. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine