SCHOOL FIRST IN AREA RATED 'DANGEROUS' BY THE STATE

But Cy-Ridge's District Calls Label Punishment For Diligent Reporting
Of Drug Violations

The suburban, middle-class Cypress Ridge High School is the first
Houston-area campus to be deemed "persistently dangerous," an
emotionally charged label that it earned, in part, for reporting a
high number of drug violations.

Much to the chagrin of Cypress-Fairbanks district leaders, the high
school is one of just five Texas schools to make this year's list.
Fewer than 40 U.S. schools were deemed dangerous last year.

"The label 'persistently dangerous' is a totally inaccurate
reflection of the learning environment at Cypress Ridge," district
spokeswoman Kelli Durham said.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, each state has developed
a method for designating persistently dangerous schools. Schools
tagged with the moniker must notify parents and allow students to
transfer to another school within the district. So far, about 90
students have given notice they plan to leave Cypress Ridge before
classes resume Aug. 16.

In Texas, schools are considered persistently dangerous if they
report three or more mandatory expulsion incidents per 1,000 students
in each of the previous three years. The rules give equal weight to
alcohol violations, assaults, arson and murder.

Analyzing the numbersCypress-Fairbanks leaders said their school is
being unfairly targeted for aggressively tracking every on-campus
violation and for encouraging students to report crime. Other schools
with far more notable instances didn't appear on the latest list,
which tracks crimes from 2002 to 2005.

Nearly 80 percent of the 41 instances that Cypress Ridge reported in
the last three years were drug violations, Durham said. In 70 percent
of the cases, a student reported the infraction either through Crime
Stoppers or to an adult on campus, she said.

Among the remaining nine incidents was one case of arson and
possession of illegal weapons, including knives and brass knuckles.

In a majority of the drug cases, students were caught with a few
Xanax or Adderall pills, Durham said. Those medications are used to
treat anxiety and attention deficit disorder, respectively, but some
students abuse them without a prescription. Students who have a
medical reason for taking those drugs are supposed to leave them with
the school nurse, and those who don't face disciplinary action,
Durham said.

"The district questions whether No Child Left Behind had that in
mind," she said. "Someone who has one or two pills in their pocket is
not like aggravated assault or carrying a weapon."

To help address its drug problems, the 87,000-student district will
start random testing of teenagers who compete in sports and academic
events when school resumes this month. They're also increasing
surveillance at Cypress Ridge and continuing other anti-drug
initiatives, Durham said.

Students transferringSophomore Kouazou Njowo said she's shocked that
her seemingly well-regarded school made the list, while others, such
as Westbury High School in Houston, where there was a rape and riot
this year, didn't.

"I've heard of way worse high schools than us," the 14-year-old said.
She added that she only witnessed a few fights during her freshman
year on campus.

Still, the letter that Cypress Ridge sent home July 26 has prompted
several of Njowo's friends to opt to transfer to other
Cypress-Fairbanks high schools.

Students have until Aug. 9 to complete the transfer
application.

"Everyone's just leaving," she said.

Kenneth Trump, president of the Cleveland-based National School
Safety and Security Services, said parents shouldn't be alarmed if
their child attends one of the schools on the list.

"In my opinion, they should be given an award because it's likely
they are most honest in reporting their numbers and tackling their
problems head on," he said. "The principal down the street who sweeps
it under the rug and doesn't report them looks great, but may have a
more dangerous school."

School administrators are infamous for grossly underreporting campus
violence, he said.

This national watch list, which Trump calls the "Scarlet Letter" of
education, had many systematic flaws.

Most states, for instance, set the required crime level so high that
schools face virtually no threat of ever reaching the limit, he said.

"The reality is, in most cases, a situation like Columbine wouldn't
qualify a school to be on the list," he said.

Experts criticize the list

Parents certainly shouldn't take this list -- which also includes
schools in La Joya, Laredo and Donna -- to be indicative of the most
troubled campuses in the state, experts said.

But they also shouldn't take the label lightly, said Scott Polland,
former director of psychological services in Cy-Fair, who's now with
Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.

"Rather than attacking the criteria, the schools should just say, 'We
know we have had some students that have had some problems and we're
going to address this,' " he said.

The school should create atask force that includes students, parents
and community members to talk about other steps that can be taken to
make Cypress Ridge safer, Polland said.

Schools are expected to be honest on these reports, though there is
little oversight.

Still, administrators who do not report all of their infractions
could face criminal action if the Texas Education Agency discovers
the misreporting, spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said.

"It's like any government document, the superintendent's signing off
on it and saying it's accurate and true," she said. "We depend on the
schools to be accurate."

Families should use the data to determine whether to transfer their
child to another school, she said.

"It's going to be up to the parents. If it's a controlled substance
problem, some might find that not as dangerous. Others might find it
totally unacceptable," she said.