BOARD REVIEWS SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS

Langley school district's policy of suspending students for certain
forms of unacceptable behaviour often doesn't solve the problem, said
a trustee at the school board's meeting last month.

Trustee Alison McVeigh said it can put the offending student back in
the situation that prompted the suspension in the first place.

McVeigh's remarks came during discussion of Project Resiliency, an
initiative aimed at reducing drug use among students. The board
backed a staff recommendation that alternatives to suspension be
explored where the suspended student's behaviour, such as tardiness,
chronic absence and substance abuse, does not pose a risk to staff,
students or the community.

To arrive at a solution, a committee comprised of students and
parents, school administrators, counsellors and behaviour support
staff will be formed.

The district will continue to work to develop programs for students
who use illicit drugs, and will involve their parents too. Trustees
also reinforced their support for strategies that will help teachers
on the issue of drug use among students.

McVeigh said the board has heard from principals and youth workers
that suspending students for some infractions doesn't work. Trustee
Joan Bech said it is unproductive to keep a student out of school for
coming to school late.

Trustee Dave Hall took the opportunity to attack the smoking pits" -
outdoor areas just beyond school grounds where students smoke. School
board policy prohibits smoking anywhere on school property.

This is a sanctioned opportunity, a breeding ground for unwanted
activity," Hall said.

Hall used the opportunity to clarify remarks he made at the May board
meeting in which he suggested that overcrowded schools aggravate a
drug and gang problem.

He explained after the meeting that while an overcrowded school is
able to deal with the drug issue through programs such as Project
Resiliency, there are groups of young people who gather together to
engage in undesirable activities beyond the school."

By gangs, he clarified, he was referring to youths who get together
for that purpose.

Hall said that some of that activity is carried out by students who
smoke, beyond the school's boundary, in loosely supervised smoking pits."

Drug use is not confined to schools, Trustee Diane Pona cautioned at
the meeting. They are used by doctors, lawyers, everyone . . . it's
become a real problem (and) starting with parents and students at
school is a good start."

The new initiatives won't get rid of it but it will give students the
opportunity for positive change of lifestyle," Pona said.