DE PERE SCHOOL DISTRICT DRUG POLICY APPEARS TO BE WORKING

'Nothing Pressing' That Must Be Changed In Code

DE PERE -- The first year of the De Pere School District's random
drug policy appears to have helped curb the problems of drinking and
drug use among students, school officials say.

It's too early to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the
policy, but De Pere High School Principal Annette Brace thinks the
random tests, along with a host of other programming, is helping
reduce drinking and drug use.

"I believe that's what it's done," Brace said.

The School Board adopted an updated co-curricular code that includes
random drug or alcohol testing for the 2007-2008 school year. It
applies to students who participate in after-school activities, who
have parking permits or are members of a club pledging to stay clean.

Officials also did random Breathalyzer tests at school dances and
other functions.

Among the 364 students randomly tested during the past academic year,
the school found fewer than 10 either tested positive or refused to
be tested, Brace said. She declined to cite an exact number, saying
that might identify who the students were.

But positive tests weren't the point of the policy, she
said.

"Our goal was never to catch kids doing bad things," she said. "It
was to encourage healthier behaviors."

The school also brings in the De Pere Police Department's K-9 officer
to sniff for drugs and it has a tip-off policy in which kids can
bring it to the school's attention if they suspect a classmate is
under the influence.

The school also hosted a number of programs to raise awareness among
students and parents. They included a series of informational
meetings organized with the parents group and a school social worker,
covering topics like talking to kids about drinking and drugs and a
discussion about sexual abuse.

A committee of students, parents and staff met in late June to review
the testing. A survey also went out to every household in the
district, the principal said.

They found "nothing pressing" had to be changed, Brace said. She
intends to send out information to address some common questions.

The Green Bay School District also updated its co-curricular code,
spokeswoman Amanda Brooker said.

Although leaders discussed including random drug tests, they didn't
do so, she said. No other Brown County school districts have a
similar policy. De Pere modeled its code after the Kimberly School
District's.

The De Pere district incurs no cost for the random tests. Bellin
Health administered them as part of its partnership with the district
for athletic training.

The district will continue to monitor the code, though Brace said she
expects no major changes for the upcoming school year.

And although results appear encouraging, Brace said it's too soon to
tell.

"It's only been a year, we can't take the results and say 'Yay, drugs
are out of the school and we can stop now,'" she said.

"One year's data is not conclusive."