STATISTICS TELL SOBERING STORY

Coalition Against Substance Abuse To Make Presentation To Parents Of
Ridgefield Students

RIDGEFIELD -- A survey of Ridgefield High School students done in
April showed 26 percent of the student body drank to excess on at
least one occasion in the previous weeks.

Of the 1,270 students who took part in anonymous survey, 24 percent
felt that it was important to use restraint -- not to drink alcohol,
use drugs or have sex.

These statistics and more will be given to parents Monday at 7:30
p.m. in East Ridge Middle School in a presentation by the Coalition
Against Substance Abuse.

Coalition members Rudy Ruggles, who is also an MCCA board member,
and First Selectman Rudy Marconi and Superintendent of Schools
Deborah Low will speak.

"We'll talk about the concept of 40 Developmental Assets that can be
used and instilled in youths to help them make positive choices and
avoid risky behavior," Ruggles said.

The statistics were gathered from the survey "Attitudes and
Behavior: Profile of Student Life," designed by Search Institute in
Minneapolis and conducted by the coalition.

Search Institute has researched what kids need to succeed in life
for 50 years.

Students were free to take the survey or not, and all responses were
nameless to encourage honesty.

About 29 percent of the students reported they had used marijuana in
the previous 30 days, and 9 percent reported they used harder drugs,
including LSD and cocaine.

"These numbers are higher than the national average," Ruggles said.
"But there is a direct correlation between substance abuse and
disposable income.

"Ridgefield's statistics probably aren't any different from those
found in other high-income communities across the country."

Marconi said the survey showed "the rate of alcohol and substance
abuse increases from freshman to senior years."

And avoiding sexual behavior "decreases at a dramatic rate as kids
move through their high school years."

"Parental involvement in their kids' lives, beginning at the
ninth-grade is at one level and shows a steady decrease as their
kids move through to their senior year," Marconi said. "I'm not a
trained counselor, but I look at these statistics and see a correlation."

Some of the suggestions Ruggles will offer parents are setting
boundaries, having clearly defined rules with consequences, and
monitoring where their children are.

A strong show of caring and clear rules are necessary for young
people to learn to avoid risky behavior, he said.

Some 58 percent of Ridgefield High School students who answered the
survey said they didn't feel their family had this strong structure.

The survey's statistics on teen behavior don't have to remain the
norm in Ridgefield, Ruggles said.

"Parents can certainly make a difference by developing trusting
communication between themselves and their children from the
earliest stages of their children's lives."

Marconi said the statistics are disturbing, but they offer important
information, showing parents need to get involved and stay involved
in their children's lives.

The survey also shows the town is taking the right steps to improve
things through the coalition's Transitional Instruction for Parents
(TIPS) program of classes for parents of fifth- and ninth-graders,
Marconi said.