SCHOOL DISTRICT 53 ACTIVE IN DRUG AND ALCOHOL PREVENTION

School District #53 will tackle the problem of drugs and alcohol in
South Okanagan schools by taking a hands-on approach, superintendent
Vern Berg told board members at the January 26 meeting. His proposal,
based on comprehensive information gleaned from recent drug and
alcohol forums and further refined at a planning meeting, was accepted
by the school board and Berg says he is "very pleased" with their decision.

"We will be able to hire a school-based prevention worker through a
contract with Pathways," Berg said. In fact the hiring will take place
almost immediately for the three-day a week (or .6) position, that
will run from February until June.

The time will be split between Southern Okanagan Secondary School
(SOSS) and Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS); Similkameen Elementary
Secondary School (SESS) already has a drug and alcohol counsellor in
place, funded by Interior Health. But there will be extra staff there
as well, "We are approving more support worker time there," Berg says,
noting that the childcare worker already in place at SESS can take
drug awareness training and therefore augment their resources.

Along with having a prevention worker at the area senior secondary
schools, which is key because often drug and alcohol use masks deeper
problems, there still have to be discipline measures taken but changes
have been made in this area as well.

"For the first offense [of a drug or alcohol possession infraction]
the suspension remains at five days but it can be reduced to three
days if the student agrees to counselling," Berg says. The second
offense is not taken lightly and usually results in a 10 to 20 day
suspension; now it comes with mandatory counselling and the
superintendent says, "upon the student's return to school there will
be a school-based team meeting with the school-based prevention worker
to determine what needs to done in terms of follow up for that student."

A third infraction will result in referral to the district discipline
committee as it does now.

What pleases Berg particularly about these changes is the support and
counselling that is provided for the student, and he explains that if
the student can back to class within 10 days, even a second offense
won't set them back too far with their studies.

The follow up work and continued counselling is there for those who
may need it to stay on track and he sees this as a "tremendous
addition to the program" for the kids.

For those who are interested in learning more about the program Berg
says an education meeting is going to be held at OSS in Osoyoos at
7:00 p.m. "Our new worker, Jody Meyer from Pathways, will give a
presentation about students, school and drugs. He also will go over
the role of the school-based prevention worker and discuss trends in
drug usage."

But probably the most significant talk will come from the students
themselves who have formed a panel and will give their
close-to-the-ground perceptions on current trends in drug usage in the
schools.

Berg says that the meeting will be a great kick off to this program
and will give parents an excellent opportunity to become involved.
"School parent advisory committees (PACs) will be invited as will the
District PAC, who are very excited."

And while this is not a new initiative in schools, it is new here
although the issue it deals with is an ongoing problem, "It is an
issue all secondary schools in BC are grappling with," Berg says but
by providing the school-based worker right on site, you have someone
knowledgeable who knows how to relate to students and can handle self
referrals.

"They can be present in the classrooms, out on the school grounds
talking to the kids=85I know that this is valued by the students from
reading the evaluations from a similar program in Penticton."

It will be a bit of a learning experience this year, working out all
of the kinks, Berg says, but Meyer who comes from Summerland -- a
school that has met with a high degree of success with their program
- -- is highly regarded and should be a tremendous asset to the Oliver
and Osoyoos schools.