SUBSTANCE-ABUSE GRANTS AWARDED

Program Includes Specialists' Input

WAYLAND -- A private foundation has awarded Wayland's public schools a
$200,000 grant over three years to help fight drug and alcohol abuse. The
grant, from the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, will allow the
district to hire a 20-hour-a-week coordinator to establish methods to
discourage students from substance abuse.

In addition, school officials will get assistance from specialists in
developing such programs, and Brandeis University specialists will evaluate
the results of the programs.

"So we have tremendous academic support and accountability for what we do,"
Doris Goldthwaite, Wayland's director of student services, told the School
Committee this week. "I'm very excited about it."

Superintendent of Schools Gary Burton noted in an interview that it is
unusual for Wayland to receive a large grant.

"So often we don't qualify for grants because we're considered a wealthy
school district," he said, "and yet the needs are the same for at-risk
behaviors."

Wayland received one of five competitive grants. Cohen said Wayland's grant
application stood out partly because of the involvement of community
members beyond the schools, including parents and police, and partly
because school officials are interested not only in preventing abuse but in
intervening in cases where students are already using drugs and alcohol.

Other school districts receiving $200,000 grants include Framingham,
Hopkinton, and Needham, as well as a joint venture by Bellingham and
Milford. While many school districts have programs designed to deal with
drugs and alcohol, many local programs do not follow proven methods, said
Martin Cohen, president and chief executive officer of the foundation. The
DARE, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, program is still run by police in
a number of towns covered by Globe West. But the effectiveness of the
program has been questioned in some academic studies. And Cohen said none
of the grant money would go to it.

"What we don't want to do is just have these funds go to programs that
aren't effective. DARE is one of those," he said.

As part of the grant, school officials will have the services of Education
Development Center Inc., headquartered in Newton, to help develop programs
in accord with the latest research.

"This was an attempt by the foundation to really say, 'Let's not only put
some money into this issue but let's bring in some expertise to help these
towns in a concerted way,' " Cohen said.

Foundation officials also are hoping to foster a collaborative approach
between Wayland and other communities that received grants by getting them
together to discuss their experiences.

The results of the project will be evaluated by the Schneider Center for
Behavioral Health at Brandeis University.

Though some statistics suggest that drinking and drug use among teenagers
are declining somewhat, they remain a problem.

A survey conducted by the state Department of Education in spring 2003
found that 25 percent of high school students in the state had tried
alcohol before age 13, and 27 percent said they had engaged in binge
drinking, meaning they had consumed five or more drinks within a couple of
hours. About 47 percent of the high school students surveyed said they had
used an illegal drug, including 11 percent who said they had used marijuana
before age 13. Some 9 percent said they had used ecstasy at some point in
their lives, 8 percent had used cocaine, 6 percent had used
methamphetamines, and 3 percent used heroin.

The MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, headquartered in
Framingham, is a charitable nonprofit organization that tries to fill unmet
health needs in 25 cities and towns west of Boston.