I-L TACKLES DRUG, ALCOHOL ISSUES

Using Survey Results As Springboard For Change

MEREDITH - The Inter-Lakes School District is using the results of the 2001
New Hampshire Youth Risk Survey as a springboard for change.

Last January, 71 percent of the student body participated in the survey
which assesses risk behaviors among teens including the use of alcohol,
tobacco and other drugs.

Students in Grades 9-12 who took the survey were given anonymity in an
effort to increase the likelihood of truthful responses. The survey also
examined sexual activity and other health risk behaviors such as binge
drinking, drunken driving, or riding with someone who has been drinking.

The survey results shows that drugs and alcohol are commonly abused in the
Inter-Lakes School District, and that many area teens are sexually
promiscuous despite reporting they have received AIDS education.

The results of the survey were shared with the school board on June 26 and
have prompted Superintendent of Schools Dr. Scott Andersen to call for an
action plan to be developed to address the problem.

While 33 high schools statewide participated in the survey, Inter- Lakes is
the lone Lakes Region School to publicly release the results. The move has
endeared Andersen to some and alienated him to others.

"This is not just a school problem - it is a community problem. It's easy
to blame our students when it's the adults who set the example and change
the norm. Prevention must become a community priority, a state priority,
our priority," Andersen told the school board.

During a recent editorial board meeting at The Citizen, the superintendent
conceded that since the survey results were made public, he's fielded more
comments from people on any topic since he assumed leadership of the district.

While some taxpayers wholeheartedly endorse efforts to move drug and
alcohol abuse prevention to the front burner, others believe the problem is
not as prevalent as the survey suggests.

It's the latter comment that rankles Andersen most.

In an effort to get the word out, Andersen has addressed area civic groups
and community leaders and said one of the most frequently asked questions
was whether he believes the survey statistics are an accurate reflection of
substance abuse at Inter-Lakes.

Students voluntarily participated in the survey and parents were notified
prior to the questionnaire being distributed. While some community members
believe "youthful bravado" may have encouraged youngsters to color their
responses, Andersen counters that it's just as likely students
under-reported their actual behaviors.

"Any survey is an attempt at measuring the truth," the administrator said,
"but people can lie both ways. Say 20 percent weren't truthful in their
responses. Does that make the statistics any better?" Andersen commented.

He believes the community can make the greatest impact in promoting a
change in the culture of alcohol. Some of the most startling statistics, he
said, show that in all but the 10th grade, high school student's use of
alcohol in the month preceding the survey outpaced both the state and
national average.

The administrator said he is most saddened by the statistics that show
students as young as the fifth grade have experimented with both drugs and
alcohol and that by the time they enter high school 63 percent of girls
have used one or both substances as have 70 percent of boys.

Numerous health studies show, Andersen said, that teens who begin drinking
before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than
those who began at age 21.

Contributing factors to the pervasiveness of alcohol, Andersen believes, is
the region's tourism roots. Youngsters mimic what they see and in the Lakes
Region they witness a culture that condones people who come here to
vacation, relax and consume alcohol.

"People come here to drink and that's the culture that our kids grow up in
and see," said Andersen.

To combat alcohol use among teens, Andersen said, one of the most
successful prevention strategies is controlling supply.

Youngsters most frequently obtain alcohol from their own homes, the homes
of their friends or they buy it. Cracking down on the illegal sale of
alcohol to minors would go a long way towards helping to eliminate the
problem, Andersen believes.

Improving the lineup of after-school activities for area youth and the
construction of a skate boarding park and or a community center, the
administrator said, could also play a role in helping to provide healthy
alternatives to substance abuse.

"These are some great kids but by not providing any alternatives we are in
effect saying (substance abuse) is your only alternative," AndersEn said.

As part of initial efforts to address substance abuse problems at
Inter-Lakes, Andersen has called for the creation of a community resources
group made up of microcosm of three towns that make up the cooperative
school district.

In recent weeks, the school district has sent letters inviting some 60
people to the first session which will be held at the Community Auditorium
at Inter-Lakes High School in Meredith on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.

Those invited to join the core group include town officials, police chiefs,
business leaders, parents and perhaps most importantly students.

Because the survey results were returned after the school year had ended in
June, Andersen said, one of the biggest components missing is the reaction
of students. Although he's heard some anecdotal comments from a limited
number of students, showing they believe the survey results are an accurate
reflection of teen-age behavior, he wants to engage them in the process of
positive change.

Invitations to join the core group have been sent to the president of the
student council and to representatives of the senior class. The
administrator envisions the group mapping its own strategies to help fight
substance abuse among area teens.

On Sept. 18, New Futures, a non-profit program that helps communities
develop ways to combat drug and alcohol use among youngsters, will give a
presentation on the political structure of alcohol among teens to be held
as part of a breakfast meeting at The Inn at Mill Falls at 7:30 a.m.

The organization has previously helped Laconia, Gilford, Belmont, Concord
and other communities develop strategies to fight underage drinking and
drug abuse.

To Andersen there is no single solution to the problem. Parents need to
give their children moral guidelines and enforce the rules and both the
school and the community at-large has to play a role in preventative
education, he said.

An executive summary of the Youth Risk Survey can be found on the
district's Web site at www.inter-lakes.k12.nh.us.

A copy of the entire report is available by calling the SAU Office at
279-7947 or contacting them by e-mail.