STUDENTS ID DRUG PROBLEM

Survey Suggests Not Enough Is Being Done To Combat Drugs On School
Premises

School satisfaction surveys suggest parents and teachers may be in the
dark about the real level of drug activity in St. Albert schools.

St. Albert Protestant and Catholic school districts compiled responses
to their annual satisfaction surveys. But while both districts
recorded high satisfaction rates for school safety and the quality of
education, they also showed low marks for their efforts to keep drugs
out of the city's schools.

Asked whether they were satisfied with how effective the
cross-district drug protocol is in deterring students from bringing
drugs and other illegal substances to school, only 47 per cent of
Grade 10 students and 41 per cent of Grade 12 students in the
Protestant district responded positively. Parents, however, were 79
per cent satisfied. Staff were even more satisfied, with 88 per cent
agreeing the protocol is an effective deterrent.

The Catholic division recorded similar ratings, although the results
are not directly comparable because of different data compilation
methods. Grade 10 and 12 students' satisfaction ratings were lumped
together. Only 53 per cent were satisfied with efforts to keep drugs
off school property, while their parents showed a 75 per cent
satisfaction rate.

Protestant school trustees received their survey results at the last
public board meeting, but initially expressed little concern about the
low rating. Deputy superintendent Barry Wowk sits on the joint
district Student Conduct Committee, which developed the drug protocol.
He said the survey doesn't provide answers, "it asks more questions."

"Is the fact students don't rate [the protocol] because schools aren't
addressing the presence of drugs, or is it simply that the drug
protocol is not helping, or is it the fact that nothing is working?"
he asked. "The bottom line is we need to ask some more questions."

Wowk said the district's drug protocol is only one part of a
multi-pronged approach to dealing with the presence of drugs in
schools and a negative response to the protocol's merit doesn't mean
schools' total effort is a failure. "It's not new. We know we have a
situation to deal with ... the bottom line is we're doing a number of
projects to deal with the situation."

Greater St. Albert Catholic division principal Emilie Keane was even
more blunt in her reaction to the results.

"We certainly make huge efforts to keep drugs out of schools but the
reality is they are still getting into our school yards," Keane said.

Students' satisfaction, she added reflects a "reality that kids
understand and see, which is different from what parents and others in
the city believe. And [student responses] support the research we've
done."

Keane said she didn't want to lead parents to believe local schools
are unsafe and stressed other communities are facing the same problem.
But she hopes an honest assessment of the results would spur a greater
community effort to address the problem of illegal drugs.

"We need to be realistic about what's out there before we can get
realistic with the solutions," she said. "[Students] are the direct
target of drug pushers."