STUDENT DRUG USE UP

Several Colorado Springs-area school districts say students are using
alcohol and marijuana more often now than just a few years ago.

But reversing the trend isn't just schools' responsibility - parents and
the community have to help, school leaders say.

According to a survey in Academy School District 20 in April, for instance,
that school's students are using marijuana and alcohol more than the
national average.

The survey, done by the Rocky Mountain Behavioral Science Institute in Fort
Collins, was given to about 1,000 sixth-, eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders
in the district.

It reported 31 percent of Air Academy High School seniors said they had
smoked marijuana in the past month, compared with a national rate among
seniors of 23 percent. Fifty-three percent of Air Academy seniors said they
had used alcohol in the past month, a percentage point higher than the
national senior average.

Air Academy seniors generally reported a higher rate of use of drugs and
alcohol than the national average. Districtwide, the numbers were more in
line with the average.

"There is a lot of concern," said Air Academy Principal Jan Romary of her
school's numbers. "They're a surprise."

Students answering the D-20 survey said they most often drank or used drugs
at home without their parents' knowledge, or at night with friends.

Other Colorado Springs-area school districts say they're seeing similar
trends - increased marijuana use and drinking among students - compared
with a few years ago.

Districts that have recently done similar surveys include Colorado Springs
District 11 and Harrison School District 2. Lewis-Palmer School District 38
plans to survey students in December or January, said Ted Beltheau, the
district's student services executive director.

"Big surprise ... we're not any different than the rest of the country,"
said Larry Borland, D-11's security director.

Half of the seniors surveyed in Borland's district said they drank in the
past month. A little more than a third said they smoked marijuana in the
past year.

A study by the Center for Social Science Research at the University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs for Harrison School District 2 concluded
recurrent use of marijuana and alcohol had increased in the last four
years. It also said alcohol use by district students was less than the
national average, but marijuana use was higher than average.

The numbers give a limited snapshot of what's going on, but don't answer
the question parents and teachers want answered: Why?

"It's hard to look at a survey like that and say this is why it has gone
up," said Jay Lang, a Challenger Middle School counselor and head of the
district's drug advisory committee.

Whatever's pushing the numbers higher, school officials agree community
solutions are needed.

Romary and Eagleview Middle School Principal Ross MacAskill recently sent
their schools' results home to parents in a newsletter.

Romary plans to present Academy's results to the school's parent council
Tuesday and start developing strategies with her accountability board later
this month.

Parents need to know what is going on and encourage their children to stay
away from alcohol and drugs, she said.

"We need to solicit ideas and ways of getting parents more in tune with
what's going on," she said.

Lynn Walkowski, an Academy parent and council treasurer, agrees.

"We just need to acknowledge it's a problem," she said. "There is a problem
and what are we going to do about it?"

Borland also believes parents can and need to be more involved in
discouraging their children from drinking and drugs.

"Most parents want to believe their children wouldn't drink or smoke, but
it's a fact of life," he said. "The more messages we can get them
surrounded by, the better chance we have."

(SIDEBAR)

Results

The survey of 1,000 sixth-, eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders in the district
found 31 percent of Air Academy High School seniors said they had smoked
marijuana in the past month. Fifty-three percent said they had used alcohol
in the past month.