SURVEY SHOWS LESS STUDENT DRUG USE, MORE DRINKING

District 834 students are more likely to use drugs and alcohol than
their peers across the state, according to results from the latest
Minnesota Student Survey.

Drug use was down in both groups, but alcohol use stayed steady and
an increasing number of students reported "binge drinking" in the
past year.

The survey is administered to sixth-, ninth- and 12th-grade students
throughout the state once every three years. It asks questions on a
variety of topics, ranging from attitudes toward school to exercise
habits, extracurricular involvement, drug use and sexual activity.

This spring, 136,539 students took the voluntary survey, 1,752 of
whom were from District 834. Statewide results were released last
week; individual school districts received data for their students a
couple weeks ago.

"In both Stillwater and the state as a whole it surprises me the
degree to which kids engage in some of the risky behaviors - alcohol
abuse, the amount of alcohol consumed, and the driving behavior with
regard to alcohol and seatbelt use," District 834 Assistant
Superintendent Don Schuld said Wednesday. "As a community, we've
really pushed education in those areas, but it doesn't seem to be
making a huge difference."

Of the 546 District 834 12th-graders who took the survey, 71 percent
of boys and 73 percent of girls reported using alcohol or drugs at
least once in the prior year, compared with 74 percent and 72
percent, respectively, in 2004. Across the state, 67 percent of
senior boys and 66 percent of senior girls reported using alcohol or
drugs.

Schuld said he and other school officials will analyze the data in
coming weeks to look for trends and, more importantly, come up with a
plan for how to address student alcohol and drug abuse.

One bright spot, he noted, is a continuing decrease in student
tobacco use. In Stillwater, 50 percent of senior boys and 40 percent
of senior girls reported using tobacco in the prior 30 days, down
from 58 percent and 43 percent in 2004. In 2007, the statewide
figures were 42 and 27 percent, respectively.

"Whatever we do to address student alcohol and drug use, I think we
need to figure out ways to involve more community members in the
effort, and parents in particular," he said. "Over the course of the
year, kids spend much more time out in the community or at home than
they do in school, and I think what parents say, the amount of
vigilance they take, the example they show can have a huge impact."

Schuld said he would like to involve more churches and faith groups
in the effort, as well.

Sheri Vrieze, who oversees chemical health outpatient programs at
Human Services Inc. and chairs the Washington County Chemical Health
Action Collaborative (CHAC), agreed that more community involvement
is needed to address the issue.

Though she said she was pleased to see a decrease in hard drug use,
Vrieze said she and other chemical health specialists are alarmed by
a continuing trend toward more extreme alcohol use.

"One area of concern is the number of kids that are 'binge drinking,'
or consuming four or five alcoholic beverages in a short period of
time. The survey data fit with a trend that we've been seeing here -
kids might not be drinking at a higher rate than they have
previously, but their manner of intake continues to be more severe in
that they're drinking to become intoxicated," she said. "These aren't
kids sitting around a campfire somewhere having a couple of beers.
They're drinking to become intoxicated, and that's what's the most
concerning."

She continued: "That same thinking pattern has just swung (from other
drugs) over to alcohol use: 'Let's get as drunk as we can, as fast as
we can.'"

Vrieze said she and her colleagues on the CHAC will take a detailed
look at the 2007 survey results in the coming months. She expects the
group will publicly present its findings in late February or early
March.

Like Schuld, Vrieze said the group will have to re-evaluate its
strategies in light of the survey data.

"Underage drinking hasn't gone down, so all the messages that are out
there about not drinking and driving - and there are quite a few -
are still not reaching them," she said. "It just goes to show what
those of us in the profession have always believed: alcohol remains
the most dangerous thing for kids to use, and the most accepted."

Complete Minnesota Student Survey for the state and District 834 can
be found along with the online version of this story at
http://www.stillwatergazette.com/articles/2007/12/27/2007SchoolElectionarchive.txt