HIGH SCHOOL DAZE

Parents Ask The School Board To Institute Mandatory Substance-Abuse
Education At T.C. Williams.

Does Alexandria look the other way as teenagers consume alcohol and
drugs? Consider the statistics: According to a recent survey of
Alexandria schoolchildren, 61 percent of 12th grade students at T.C.
Williams High School admitted that they drank alcohol one or more
times in the last year -- with 25 percent of respondents acknowledging
that they drank five or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks --
and 37 percent of Alexandria high-school seniors said they have used
marijuana in the last 12 months.

These statistics, compiled last summer by the school system's
Department of Monitoring and Evaluation, have prompted widespread
alarm among some parents who say that the city takes a permissive
attitude toward teenage drinking and drug use. Since the release of
the report earlier this year, a quiet movement has taken place behind
the scenes to work toward reform measures in the school system. Led by
a group of concerned parents who are part of an influential advisory
committee, the movement has coalesced around a series of
recommendations, including one that all T.C. Williams students receive
mandatory substance-abuse prevention education programs. During last
week's School Board meeting, Cate Alexander Brennan told board members
that they should take action soon to prevent the winter holiday season
and the summertime Beach Week from becoming venues for teenage
consumption of alcohol and drugs.

"I urge the School Board to ask the superintendent to get her
administration to act on the request of our community leaders -- and to
do so soon, before the holidays, when much drinking takes place," said
Brennan, who is the parent of a T.C. Williams senior. "The houses for
beach week have been rented, the planned provision of beer and wine
has been affirmed, and deposits for seniors are being taken."

BRENNAN IS A MEMBER of the Substance Abuse Education and Violence
Prevention Advisory Committee, whose annual report formalized several
recommendations to the School Board earlier this year. Aside from
recommending mandatory substance-abuse education for all high-school
students, the committee also suggested that school staff members
receive training sessions on violence prevention, mental-health
education and ethnicity education. The report also identified policy
revisions for the School Board, such as bringing an equanimity between
sports groups and student clubs. Board members are scheduled to
consider the recommendations at their Dec. 20 meeting.

"There is a concern that athletes and student club members who are
guilty of the same infraction are being given different disciplinary
actions," the committee's annual report concluded. "For example, crew
athletes were suspended for the season for being at a party where
alcohol was served. Students who were part of school-sanctioned clubs,
including officers, were not denied access to participate in clubs or
punished in any other way."

THE SURVEY OF students conducted earlier this year included more than
3,000 respondents who answered questions on a wide array of subjects --
everything from drinking alcohol to sexual activity and violence. As
students moved toward graduation, the survey showed, they became less
likely to be dissuaded from drinking alcohol as a result of ethical
standards. While 74 percent of seventh-graders said it would be
"against my values to drink alcohol as a teenager," only 37 percent of
high-school seniors said their values would prevent them from drinking.

The racial breakdown between those who responded to the values
question was also striking. While 68 percent of Asian students
represented the highest percentage of the population that said it
would be against their values to drink alcohol as a teenager, 62
percent of black students said their values would discourage them from
drinking and 48 percent of Hispanic students responded affirmatively.
Only 41 percent of white students said that their values would deter
them from consuming alcohol. While 73 percent of black students said
"everyone knows that you'll get in trouble for using alcohol or other
drugs," only 55 percent of white students responded positively to that
assertion.

"A lot of the students don't feel that they are likely to be caught --
and that, when they do get caught, there's going to be any penalty,"
said School Board member Scott Newsham, who wrote a Nov. 28 memorandum
to his fellow board members requesting that the board take action on
the committee's recommendations. "I think we need to send a clear
signal that that's not acceptable, and that there will be penalties."

MEMBERS OF THE Substance Abuse Education and Violence Prevention
Advisory Committee -- known by the acronym SAEVPAC -- accused the school
system of lacking "a unified response to alcohol or other drug
infractions." The annual report documented instances in which
administrators make arbitrary decisions regarding where to refer
students for evaluation and interventions. While some were handled
within the school system, others were referred to city agencies or
private treatment providers. The report suggested the Alexandria
school system institute a model similar to one in Fairfax County, in
which students who have violated alcohol or other drug-related
regulations can attend a three-day seminar held by a the Fairfax-Falls
Church Community Services Board that includes mandatory parental
participation.

"The issue here is the health of our teens," Brennan told School Board
members last week. "There is no evidence in this country or abroad
that early drinking and the introduction of alcohol by parents results
in responsible drinking either in the teen years or beyond. The
evidence is to the contrary. High-school drinkers are more likely to
drink and drink more than non-drinkers in college."