As part of group four, our job is to create a plan of action to raise drug awareness in Westfield High School. Over the past ten years, drugs have dramatically increased at the high school. In fact, many students at the High School sneak them into school by hiding them in everyday items such as students’ lockers, backpacks and Axe cans. In fact, more than 60% of teens said that drugs were sold, used, or kept at their school (11 Facts about Teens and Drug Use: www.dosomething.org). 76% of high school students have used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, and 1/5 of these students may be addicted. (13 Sobering Facts about Teen Substance Abuse: www.everydayhealth.com) This abuse is clearly a very serious and growing issue. Our plan is to make sure that we can have the ability to random drug tests,drug-sniffing dogs, and random locker searches. This will help us to find kids with drugs, and to prevent students from using drugs while in school.
The first step in making this happen is to raise awareness to all students, teachers, parents, and administrators who aren’t aware of this problem. We will spread awareness of this issue by having grade-level assemblies and continue teaching about the dangers of drug abuse in health classes at schools. At the grade level meetings, the guidance counselor will remind the students about the dangers of drugs and the consequences they will face if they get caught with drugs, and this idea would be presented through a powerpoint for students to view. “Mr. Ince, one of the RIS guidance counselors strongly agrees that there is a problem with drugs in the High School. He feels that unlike alcohol which is legal in the US, and produced by companies, the drugs that students are getting, are coming from unknown places where you don’t know the people making the drugs. They can be putting poisons and unknown products into the drugs which can cause you to make bad decisions. He feels that the counselors at the High School should be teaching the students about the dangers and that you should be your own person and don’t go along with the wrong crowd. Even though this may cost you a friendship or being “cool” it is worth not facing the consequences.(Ince Interview)”
In High School health classes, students get taught about the dangers of drug abuse, but it obviously does not sink in and affect them if there is still a growing drug problem at the school. Mrs Dorry, our health teacher, says that in health classes, she stresses that drugs can change the way you make decisions and by doing the drugs, you can face many consequences. She hopes that the students use what they learn in middle school health in the situations they face with drugs, but she does not think they hear her voice when they are in the situations (Dorry Interview). In fact, studies have shown that only 20.6% of high school seniors think of drug use as harmful. (Do Something.org: 11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use) This is why we have to reinforce the dangers of the drugs to students and teachers so they know the effects and consequences of doing drugs in school. This is the first step to eliminating drug use in the high school.
The next step that needs to be taken is increasing punishment and enforcing more drug searches in the school by increasing the use of drug-sniffing dogs. The use of drug-sniffing dogs has decreased drug abuse in other schools, with an average of being 44% accurate. (How Accurate are Drug-Sniffing Dogs? www.wisegeek.com) We can implement this tactic in Westfield High School to attempt to eliminate drug abuse. Harsher punishment and stricter searches will reduce the amount of drug abuse at the school. Drug-sniffing dogs will come to the school periodically and without warning prior to the search, so that students will not have time to avoid the search and hide the drugs. They have been used effectively at other schools in New Jersey and other areas, and are increasingly common in public high schools such as schools in Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. (Drug-Sniffing Dogs Patrol More Schools: www.nytimes.com) This is clearly an effective way to decrease drug use in schools.
Another way that we will work to eliminate drug abuse at the high school is increasing surprise drug searches. If students are not previously aware of the search, they will not be able to avoid it. We should have police and teachers search students lockers if they believe that they are carrying suspicious items such as drugs or alcohol. If the police and administrators are suspicious of drug activity, they should be able to have random drug tests to attempt to eliminate drugs. Random drug testing is a very effective step in ridding the school of drugs. In some circumstances, effective drug searches are the most important step in controlling drug use. (Schools Without Drugs: What Works: books.google.com) This is a very good way to eliminate drug abuse in the High School.
In conclusion, drug abuse is a very serious issue at the High School. We need to take action against the drug use by first increasing awareness of the problem, then using drug-sniffing dogs and surprise drug searches and tests. Drugs are used by too many teens in the high school and our job as group four is to take action and do something to change this. In 2012, there were 30,476 domestic arrests made relating to drug use in the United States (www.justice.gov). 81% of teenagers said they had the opportunity to try illegal substances, and 42.5% actually tried them (www.cbsnews.com). Many students at the high school are able to get drugs from other students between classes. This is clearly a major problem at the school that needs to be solved. The first step is you.
"DEA Domestic Arrests." www.justice.gov. justice.gov, 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.justice.gov/dea/resource-center/statistics.shtml>.
Denis. "How Accurate Are Drug Sniffing Dogs?" www.wisegeek.com. conjecture
corporation, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. <http://www.wisegeek.com/
how-accurate-are-drug-sniffing-dogs.htm>.
Dorry, Sharon. Personal interview. 22 Apr. 2013.
Ince, Michael. Personal interview. 22 Apr. 2013.
Lublin, Nancy, CEO. 11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use. www.DoSomething.org.
dosomething.org, 9 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/
11-shocking-facts-about-teens-and-drug-use>.
11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use. www.DoSomething.org. dosomething.org,
9 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/
11-shocking-facts-about-teens-and-drug-use>.
Schweber, Nate. "Drug Sniffing Dogs Patrol More Schools." www.nytime.com. The
New York Times Company, 20 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/long-island/
22Rsniff.html?_r=0>.
Tanenbaum, Sharon. "13 Sobering Facts About Teen Substance Abuse."
www.everydayhealth.com. Everyday Health Media, 10 Mar. 2013. Web. 19
Apr. 2013. <http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-health-pictures/
13-sobering-facts-about-teen-substance-abuse.aspx#/slide-1>.
Teen Drug Abuse Rising. www.cbsnews.com. CBS Interactive Inc., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/>.
United States Department Of Education. Schools Without Drugs: What Works. N.p.:
DIANE Publishing, 1992. Print.
The first step in making this happen is to raise awareness to all students, teachers, parents, and administrators who aren’t aware of this problem. We will spread awareness of this issue by having grade-level assemblies and continue teaching about the dangers of drug abuse in health classes at schools. At the grade level meetings, the guidance counselor will remind the students about the dangers of drugs and the consequences they will face if they get caught with drugs, and this idea would be presented through a powerpoint for students to view. “Mr. Ince, one of the RIS guidance counselors strongly agrees that there is a problem with drugs in the High School. He feels that unlike alcohol which is legal in the US, and produced by companies, the drugs that students are getting, are coming from unknown places where you don’t know the people making the drugs. They can be putting poisons and unknown products into the drugs which can cause you to make bad decisions. He feels that the counselors at the High School should be teaching the students about the dangers and that you should be your own person and don’t go along with the wrong crowd. Even though this may cost you a friendship or being “cool” it is worth not facing the consequences.(Ince Interview)”
In High School health classes, students get taught about the dangers of drug abuse, but it obviously does not sink in and affect them if there is still a growing drug problem at the school. Mrs Dorry, our health teacher, says that in health classes, she stresses that drugs can change the way you make decisions and by doing the drugs, you can face many consequences. She hopes that the students use what they learn in middle school health in the situations they face with drugs, but she does not think they hear her voice when they are in the situations (Dorry Interview). In fact, studies have shown that only 20.6% of high school seniors think of drug use as harmful. (Do Something.org: 11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use) This is why we have to reinforce the dangers of the drugs to students and teachers so they know the effects and consequences of doing drugs in school. This is the first step to eliminating drug use in the high school.
The next step that needs to be taken is increasing punishment and enforcing more drug searches in the school by increasing the use of drug-sniffing dogs. The use of drug-sniffing dogs has decreased drug abuse in other schools, with an average of being 44% accurate. (How Accurate are Drug-Sniffing Dogs? www.wisegeek.com) We can implement this tactic in Westfield High School to attempt to eliminate drug abuse. Harsher punishment and stricter searches will reduce the amount of drug abuse at the school. Drug-sniffing dogs will come to the school periodically and without warning prior to the search, so that students will not have time to avoid the search and hide the drugs. They have been used effectively at other schools in New Jersey and other areas, and are increasingly common in public high schools such as schools in Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. (Drug-Sniffing Dogs Patrol More Schools: www.nytimes.com) This is clearly an effective way to decrease drug use in schools.
Another way that we will work to eliminate drug abuse at the high school is increasing surprise drug searches. If students are not previously aware of the search, they will not be able to avoid it. We should have police and teachers search students lockers if they believe that they are carrying suspicious items such as drugs or alcohol. If the police and administrators are suspicious of drug activity, they should be able to have random drug tests to attempt to eliminate drugs. Random drug testing is a very effective step in ridding the school of drugs. In some circumstances, effective drug searches are the most important step in controlling drug use. (Schools Without Drugs: What Works: books.google.com) This is a very good way to eliminate drug abuse in the High School.
In conclusion, drug abuse is a very serious issue at the High School. We need to take action against the drug use by first increasing awareness of the problem, then using drug-sniffing dogs and surprise drug searches and tests. Drugs are used by too many teens in the high school and our job as group four is to take action and do something to change this. In 2012, there were 30,476 domestic arrests made relating to drug use in the United States (www.justice.gov). 81% of teenagers said they had the opportunity to try illegal substances, and 42.5% actually tried them (www.cbsnews.com). Many students at the high school are able to get drugs from other students between classes. This is clearly a major problem at the school that needs to be solved. The first step is you.
"DEA Domestic Arrests." www.justice.gov. justice.gov, 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.justice.gov/dea/resource-center/statistics.shtml>.
Denis. "How Accurate Are Drug Sniffing Dogs?" www.wisegeek.com. conjecture
corporation, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. <http://www.wisegeek.com/
how-accurate-are-drug-sniffing-dogs.htm>.
Dorry, Sharon. Personal interview. 22 Apr. 2013.
Ince, Michael. Personal interview. 22 Apr. 2013.
Lublin, Nancy, CEO. 11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use. www.DoSomething.org.
dosomething.org, 9 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/
11-shocking-facts-about-teens-and-drug-use>.
11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use. www.DoSomething.org. dosomething.org,
9 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/
11-shocking-facts-about-teens-and-drug-use>.
Schweber, Nate. "Drug Sniffing Dogs Patrol More Schools." www.nytime.com. The
New York Times Company, 20 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/long-island/
22Rsniff.html?_r=0>.
Tanenbaum, Sharon. "13 Sobering Facts About Teen Substance Abuse."
www.everydayhealth.com. Everyday Health Media, 10 Mar. 2013. Web. 19
Apr. 2013. <http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-health-pictures/
13-sobering-facts-about-teen-substance-abuse.aspx#/slide-1>.
Teen Drug Abuse Rising. www.cbsnews.com. CBS Interactive Inc., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/>.
United States Department Of Education. Schools Without Drugs: What Works. N.p.:
DIANE Publishing, 1992. Print.