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NAVIGATING THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS: LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM. Strath Haven High School Home and School Association Meeting October 8, 2015. Overview of Presentation. Preventative Measures Professional Resources Attendance Student Assistance Program Characteristics of Safe Schools
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NAVIGATING THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS: LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM Strath Haven High School Home and School Association Meeting October 8, 2015
Overview of Presentation • Preventative Measures • Professional Resources • Attendance • Student Assistance Program • Characteristics of Safe Schools • Senior Survey • Research on Marijuana Use • Recommendations and Resources for Parents
Professional Resources Staff involvement is essential to the maintenance of a healthy school climate • Counselors • Crisis counselor • Nurse • Psychologist • Deans • Faculty and staff • Health curriculum; Community speakers; Mock Crash • Administrators • Social worker • SAP Team
Focus on Attendance • Students are safest when they report to school regularly and on time • Attendance rates have been maintained at or above 95.0% at SHHS, with an annual rate of 96%.
Student Assistance Program • Team meetings are held every other week • Team includes: Social worker, deans, counselors, trained teachers, principal, nurse, psychologist, Crozer representative • Approximately 100-120 students are referred and addressed through the program each year • Referrals come from all areas of the community, and address many concerns • Additional programs include Groups, Peer Educators, Diversity Trainers
Characteristics of Safe Schools • Positive faculty role models • Respect for diversity and difference • Communication between students and adults • Constructive management of conflicts • “Code of silence” broken • Relationships established between students and staff
Policy 227 – First Offense • Referral to SAP Program • Suspension from school • Participation in substance abuse program • School/community service • Suspension from representation in extracurricular activities
SENIOR CLASS SURVEY • Monitoring the Future administered to Classes of 2006 and 2007 • Senior survey administered each spring • National data available with varied areas of emphasis available at www.monitoringthefuture.org, www.drugabuse.gov. • New in 2015: PAYS Survey for Grade 10 (November)
Risks of Marijuana Use • Schizophrenia • Respiratory diseases and cancer • Maternal use risks • Impaired/reduced: • Verbal and logical reasoning skills • Short and long term memory • Mathematical and verbal skill deficits • Motivation, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships • Increased aggression • Addiction
Marijuana Addiction • Addiction = difficulty controlling your drug use and cannot stop even though it interferes with many aspects of your life. • Marijuana accounted for 4.5 million of estimated 7.1 million Americansdependent on or abusing illicit drugs (NSDUH, 2010). • In 2009, 18% of people aged 12+ entering drug abuse treatment programs reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse; 61% of persons under 15 reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse. • Marijuana addiction similar to nicotine withdrawal makes it hard to quit.
Academic Consequences of Marijuana Use • A recent study found that those who used marijuana heavily in their teens and continued through adulthood showed a permanent drop in IQ of 8 points. • Youth with an average grade of D or below were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the past year than youth with an average grade of A. • College students with high levels (17 days/month) of marijuana use were twice as likely as those with minimal use (less than one day/month) to have an enrollment gap while in college
Additional Risks of Marijuana Use • Marijuana is the most prevalent illegal drug detected in impaired drivers, fatally injured drivers, and motor vehicle crash victims. • According to the American Council for Drug Education in NY, employees who abuse drugs are: • 10 times more likely to miss work • 3.6 times more likely to be involved in on-the job incidents • 5 times more likely to file a workers comp claim • And regular users can’t pass drug tests!
Recommendations: The Significant Seven 1. Identification with viable role models 2. Identification with and responsibility for a meaningful role in family life 3. Faith in personal resources to solve problems 4. Self-discipline, self-control, ability to learn from experience (intrapersonal skills) 5. Communication, cooperation, empathy (interpersonal skills) 6. Adaptability, flexibility, integrity (systemic skills) 7. Decision-making, ethics (judgment skills) Author: Dr. Stephen Glenn
Setting Effective Boundaries • Eliminate electronic distractions in the evening • Know your child’s social group • In order to be effective, boundaries for teens must: • Be stated clearly and briefly in simple language • Meet recognized and understood needs • Have clear consequences for violations • Be enforceable • Be negotiated • Be common knowledge
“Hands On Parents” • Monitor what teens watch on television • Monitor what teens do on the internet • Put restrictions on music teens buy • Know where teens are after school and on weekends • Expect to be told the truth by teens about where they are going • Are “very aware” of teens’ academic performance • Impose a curfew • Make it clear they would be “extremely upset” if teen used marijuana • Eat dinner with teens most every night • Turn off the television during dinner • Assign teens regular chores • Have an adult present when teens arrive home from school
Online Resources • SAM: Smart Approaches to Marijuana http://learnaboutsam.com/ • Above the Influence http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/facts/drugsmarijuana • CALM: Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana http://www.calmca.org/ • Office of National Drug Control Policy http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/frequently-askedquestions-and-facts-about-marijuana • http://www.capabilitiesinc.com/research.html
Online Resources, con’t. www.casacolumbia.org www.mentorfoundation.org/Uploads/ Adolescent_Brain_Booklet.pdf http://www.caron.org/knowledge-library/teenage-abuse-addiction/marijuana SHHS Library Media Center Teen Health and Wellness Database
Law Enforcement Perspective • Chief David Splain, Nether Providence • Chief Brian Craig, Swarthmore • Sergeant Stuffler, Swarthmore • Detective Mike Erickson, Nether Providence • Officer James Irey, Nether Providence • Officer Mike Markunas, Nether Providence