PARENTS SHOULD TALK TO KIDS ABOUT DRUGS

The numbers in a recent survey of Angleton school kids should have been a
wake-up call for parents everywhere.

The survey found that 40 percent of sixth-graders had used alcohol, and 11
percent had used marijuana.

These are sixth-graders, kids 11 and 12 years old, and more than one in 10 has
tried marijuana?

This is scary stuff, and the fact is that the situation only gets worse with
age. By ninth grade, 69 percent of the students said they had used alcohol and
38 percent said they had tried marijuana, and by the 12th grade, 83 percent
said they had used alcohol and 49 percent said they had tried marijuana.

The district took the survey last school year of students in sixth, ninth and
12th grades. The students responded voluntarily, and they did so anonymously.

Perhaps most surprising is that the numbers in the latest survey don't
represent an increase.

"This is not a new problem," said Pat Montgomery, the district's director of
academic services. "There is not an upswing."

To its credit, the district has figured out that it needs a new approach.

"To continue doing just as we have before won't have much of an impact on our
students' lives," Montgomery said. "We are trying a new tack this year."

The district has decided that delivering the message directly to students
through Drug Abuse Resistance and Education and other such programs just isn't
enough.

After all, it says, kids for the most part aren't doing this experimentation at
school. They're doing it in many cases at home or at the homes of friends.

How can schools fight that? Angleton educators have decided their best bet is
to take their message to parents.

School district officials are forming a committee that will develop a program
to educate parents on drug and alcohol prevention. The committee, which will
consist of parents, ministers, law enforcement officials and district staff,
will begin meeting Aug. 21.

"Part of this is to educate Mom and Dad as to what is out there," Montgomery
said. "How many parents know what Ecstasy is? Do they know what to look for? Do
they know dehydration is a sign of drug use?"

The school district should be applauded first for carrying out this survey and
second for acting on the results.

Parents obviously are a key element here.

We'd encourage all parents, not just those in Angleton, to brush up on the
facts concerning alcohol and drugs.

The message from educators is that if you talk to your children, they're likely
to listen. And they might not listen to anyone else.