Pubdate: Thu, 01 Mar 2012
Source: Daily News, The (Newburyport, MA)
Copyright: 2012 Eagle Tribune Publishing Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/k3oQxseR
Website: http://www.newburyportnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/693
Author: Lynne Hendricks

DRUG USE AT NHS ON RISE

School Leaders, Parents Call On Community To Address Problem

NEWBURYPORT -- It's a sobering statistic: Approximately 33 percent of 
Newburyport High School students admit they smoke marijuana, 
according to a report to be made public later this month by the 
Beacon Coalition and Newburyport Youth Services.

But the findings of the anonymous student survey conducted earlier 
this year may not surprise some parents and school leaders who are 
grappling with the knowledge that marijuana has become commonplace 
within the Newburyport school district.

Amid a significant increase in the number of expulsion hearings for 
drug and alcohol use at Newburyport High School this year and reports 
of alleged drug activity by some of Newburyport's top students and 
athletes, several parents and community leaders sounded off about the 
problem to the School Committee this week.

"My kids are recently coming home and saying, in every class - honors 
and regular classes - there's a kid in every class who's high," said 
one parent. "I'm appalled, and it has to be talked about."

Superintendent Marc Kerble and Newburyport High School Principal Mike 
Parent want to talk about it, too. They and others spent more than an 
hour discussing the growing number of drug incidents at Newburyport 
High during Tuesday night's School Committee meeting. The agenda item 
was allotted only 20 minutes, but the committee allowed the 
discussion to be extended.

"The purpose of this meeting is to have a discussion of what I think 
is an elephant in the room," said Kerble, who implored students to 
take responsibility for their actions and for parents to take 
responsibility for their kids by checking backpacks and keeping 
communication lines open.

According to figures released by Kerble, the number of expulsion 
hearings at Newburyport High has risen from three in the 2010-11 
school year to 11 already this year. There have been three additional 
hearings this year for students who have violated conditions placed 
on them at previous hearings.

Of the 11 new hearings, 10 have involved use, possession or 
consumption of marijuana on school property. Four hearings resulted 
in the expulsion of the student from the district.

Comments by Kerble and Parent Tuesday night also suggest there are a 
number of students who have been penalized for chemical substance 
abuse in violation of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic 
Association's policies, which is a separate procedure.

"This has been a trying year," Parent said. "There's no getting 
around it. Sometimes, you feel like you're putting your finger in the 
dike, running here and running there. And we all have limited resources."

Parent said it's not just marijuana use that's being seen at the high school.

"I've got many more alcohol problems than I do marijuana," Parent 
said. "It's pills. Heroin is out there in our community I'm not 
saying it's in our schools, but it's in the community."

Parent echoed Newburyport Youth Services director Andrea Egmont, who 
also spoke at the meeting, in saying that marijuana use at the school 
level is as much a community problem as a school one. And while the 
problem tends to escalate by the time students get to high school, he 
doesn't believe that's the best time to address it.

While high school administrators have worked hard to crack down on 
students leaving campus or going out to their cars to engage in 
illegal activity, Parent said more has to be done in kindergarten 
through grade 8 to stem the tide of teens taking drugs when they get 
to the secondary school.

"You can't start (educating them as) freshmen in high school," he 
said. "It can't be resolved by high school administrators. It can't 
be resolved by just this meeting here."

Egmont urged community members to attend a forum on Thursday, March 
22, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall that will take a closer look at the 
results of the student survey and feature an expanded dialogue.

"This is not new," Egmont said of the problem. "Kids have been 
smoking pot for a long time."

Egmont cited the state Legislature's 2009 decision to relax marijuana 
possession laws, effectively decriminalizing possession of a small 
amount of marijuana, as having a significant effect on the rise in student use.

"It sends a strong message to young people," Egmont said. "It's a 
shifting culture."

The good news is that unlike many communities, Newburyport has groups 
in place, like the Beacon Coalition and Youth Services, that are 
focused on working with local youths to minimize at-risk behaviors 
through a variety of programs, retreats and outreach campaigns, Egmont said.

She reminded the committee that her arrival in the city was preceded 
by several high-profile and tragic events involving local teens. She 
said that since that time, she and others have made significant 
headway forming a bridge between adults and stressed-out teens.

"There's more to it than how many kids are getting expelled," she said.

School Committee member Steve Cole suggested that the high school 
revisit its Clipper Compass student policy manual and rewrite the 
section regarding first-time drug offenses to require violators to 
undergo some type of assessment to determine if they need treatment.

He said that this type of restorative justice, which places the 
burden of cost on parents or a local organization like the Beacon 
Coalition, would ensure kids don't go underground with their drug usage.

Cole and fellow committee member Bruce Menin argued that taking 
everything away from a student caught in the act and other 
zero-tolerance policies do not help the individual or the problem.

"One of the things (zero tolerance) does is it breaks the 
relationship between adults and kids," Menin said. "The rate of 
recidivism data on zero tolerance shows suspension correlates with 
another suspension."

2011/2012 expulsion hearings

One student expelled for one year for possession of marijuana and 
drug paraphernalia and vandalism.

One student expelled for one year for possession of drug 
paraphernalia, consumption and vandalism

One student expelled for one year for assault on a staff member

One student expelled for 45 days for consumption/possession of 
marijuana and a knife; returned to school for second semester with conditions

Two students returned to school on conditions/probation for 
consumption of marijuana on school property

Two students returned to school on conditions/probation for 
possession of marijuana on school property

Two students returned to school on conditions/probation for 
possession of marijuana on a school trip

One student facing felony drug charges; future to be determined

Three students' expulsion hearings reopened after violating the 
conditions of their return to school

Source: Superintendent Marc Kerble
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart