PANEL WILL TELL PARENTS WHAT CAN BE DONE

Discussion Will Include Talk By Recovering Addict

Parents will get the opportunity Monday to hear straight talk from a local
17-year-old boy, who is a recovering addict, and his mother.

Both declined interviews before they share their story at a panel
discussion on the use of alcohol and other drugs by teens, titled "What Can
We Do?" But they are expected to provide the drama on a panel of experts
convened by the San Luis Obispo High School Tiger Parent Network, a group
of parents that formed two years ago over concern about teen drug use.

The use of drugs, says Karen Rogers, a county drug and alcohol counselor
who works with students at San Luis Obispo High School, spans from students
with low aspirations to those with high ones. Good grades are no proof of
abstinence, she said, adding, "4.0 doesn't mean a thing."

Typically, by the time parents have discovered their children are using
drugs, Rogers said, the teens have been using for at least a year.

"Parents sometimes need a wake-up call."

On Monday, organizers hope to answer the question posed in the event's
title — "What Can We Do?"

"We want parents to find out what resources are available, because there
are quite a few in the community and at school," said Lori La Vine,
co-chairwoman of the parent group. "They should be able to go home with
that information."

Karen Aydelott, of the YMCA and the Mayor's Youth Task Force, will moderate
the panel, which will include:

• Rogers, the county drug and alcohol counselor;

• Tom DePriest, a San Luis Obispo police officer assigned to the campus;

• Frank Warren, director of Friday Night Live, which offers drug-free
activities for teens; and

• Assistant Principal Will Jones.

Rogers and Warren also will represent Parent Project, a collaborative
countywide program that offers classes on raising children.

La Vine hopes the evening prods parents to take a more active role
addressing the problem. When she heard "shocking stories of out-of-control
parties," she joined the parent network and was impressed with what she found.

Parents have been busy in recent months planning two projects: an
orientation program this spring and fall for incoming freshmen, and a
survey of students' ideas on the kinds of activities they'd like to see
available.

The network held a similar panel on teen binge drinking in 1999, after
numerous reports of teens and preteens being rushed to emergency rooms
after drinking too much and passing out. This time, organizers say they are
taking a more practical approach and providing more resources.

In addition, they have broadened the topic to include all drug use.

Rogers, who counsels students individually and in small groups at the
school, said the drugs of choice are still alcohol and marijuana.

"Pot is almost as accessible to the kids as the alcohol," she said, noting
that parents play a key role here, not only as examples but as providers,
inadvertent or otherwise. "We're growing up with a generation of kids whose
parents smoke a little dope now and then."

Jeff Ballinger covers K-12 education for The Tribune.