DISTRICT TO HIRE DRUG COUNSELOR

CARLISLE - The guesswork has been stripped from discussions about drug
and alcohol abuse in Cumberland Valley School District.

Yearly student surveys gauge the level of substance abuse among sixth-
to 12th-graders. Weekly random urine screening for illicit drugs as
well as random breath tests for alcohol can reveal violations by high
school students. And middle-schoolers' parents have been offered
guides to identify drugs and kits to test their children.

Now, the focus will be on rehabilitating students. The district is
hiring a substance abuse counselor to improve students' chances of
overcoming problems and graduating.

Jack Carroll, executive director of Cumberland Perry Drug and Alcohol
Commission, called the decision "pretty progressive."

"Cumberland Valley's been one of the leaders among local schools
taking a serious look at substance abuse and other at-risk behavior of
students," he said.

Most midstate high schools work with county drug and alcohol agencies
and local law enforcement to combat substance abuse.

And more high school guidance counselors are seeking training in
substance abuse counseling to help them understand and deal with their
regular student caseload.

Cumberland Valley's new counselor will work with students who have
violated the district's drug and alcohol policy.

"The [school] board has taken a very strong stance on any student drug
or alcohol infraction," said Lynnette Snyder, the district's director
of secondary education.

In many cases, the board recommends expulsion.

But, Snyder said, "it's not just a matter of getting the kids out and
that's the end of it." Instead, most earn school credit by attending
once-weekly after-hours classes at the high school.

"We'd like to bring them in every day for three hours," Snyder
said.

That way, students would experience a more typical school day and
would attend individual and group therapy sessions with the new
counselor, she said.

Carroll said the counselor will refer students to treatment
centers.

"We're not trying to become a substance abuse center," Snyder
said.

The counselor also will work with sixth-through 12th-graders in the
district's alternative education program. Cumberland Valley is
expanding those classes -- for students with attendance problems and
other needs that aren't adequately addressed in regular classrooms --
to accommodate up to 50 students.

Kids in regular classes also will benefit because the new specialist
will guide teachers and principals in becoming more aware of substance
abuse, drug experimentation and methods for intervening, Snyder said.

District staff and parents want that information, she said. "Districts
are no longer pretending they don't have abuse issues. It doesn't mean
students aren't doing well in [academics]. It's opening up to the idea
that there is a problem," Snyder said.

ON THE RISE?

The district collects data on the number of students sent for drug and
alcohol evaluation and treatment each year.

In 2004-05, there were 54 referrals. In 2005-06, 89 were
referred.

Data from the school year that ended this month will be reported to
the school board at its 7:30 p.m. June 25 meeting.