It is back to school time!

I miss school. Ok, scratch that, I miss college. I’m jealous of my friends and family members who are gearing up for the school season. I grow green with envy when I hear people talking about buying new backpacks and picking up books… some people just don’t know how to stop bragging.

But that is college. Of my nieces and nephews who are getting ready to start a new year of high school however, I’m not envious. It has been a while since I’ve stepped foot on a high school campus.  I remember the last time I visited my old high school, I couldn’t help thinking what a dump it had become and how horrible the kids seemed. I know while I attended, we weren’t exactly angels and we definitely had issues on our campus. But is it me, or does it seem like things are only getting worse?

I’ve always said that if I have children, I’m putting them in public schools. Public schools are unique in that they offer  you the basics, as well as some important life lessons along the way. In public schools you coexist with different  social demographics and issues that will be prevalent outside of the high school walls. Not only that, but it is the ultimate challenge. You can get an amazing education at a public school, if you are willing and determined to make it happen. Public schools offer plenty of extracurricular activities and AP classes, there is no excuse for someone coming out of the public system to not be prepared for college. Although it may be a challenge, it isn’t rocket science. All a student needs is support and encouragement at home. Right?

But I now I introduce a study released Thursday, that has me thinking otherwise…

2010 National Teen Survey Finds: More Than One Quarter of Public School Students Attend Gang- and Drug-Infected Schools

Twenty-seven percent of public school students ages 12 to 17 say that their school is both gang- and drug-infected (drugs are used, kept or sold on school grounds), according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XV: Teens and Parents, the 15th annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA*) at Columbia University. This means that 5.7 million public school students attend schools which are both gang- and drug-infected.

CASAColumbia.org

Compared to teens attending gang- and drug-free schools, teens who attend schools infected with both gangs and drugs are:

  --  Five times likelier to use marijuana;
  --  Three times likelier to drink;
  --  Twelve times likelier to smoke;
  --  Three times likelier to be able to get marijuana within an hour or
      less and five times likelier to get it within a day or less; and
  --  Nearly five times likelier to have a friend/classmate who uses illegal
      drugs like acid, ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin.

The CASA survey revealed that one in three middle schoolers say that drugs are used, kept or sold at their school, a 39 percent increase since last year (32 percent in 2010 vs. 23 percent in 2009).

Compared to 12- and 13-year olds in drug-free schools, those in drug-infected schools are:

  --  Thirty-three times likelier to have tried tobacco;
  --  Seven times likelier to have a friend or classmate who uses illegal
      drugs like acid, ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin;
  --  Five times likelier to know a friend or classmate who abuses
      prescription drugs; and
  --  Almost three times likelier to have tried alcohol.

This year the CASA survey took a close look at Family Ties, the bond between parents and their teens, and sought to assess how Family Ties influence the likelihood that a teen will smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. Compared to teens in families with strong Family Ties, teens in families with weak Family Ties are:

  --  Four times likelier to try tobacco;
  --  Four times likelier to try marijuana;
  --  Almost three times likelier to drink;
  --  Twice as likely to have a friend/classmate who abuses prescription
      drugs; and
  --  Twice as likely to have a friend/classmate who uses illegal drugs such
      as acid, ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin.

Other Key Findings:

--  When teens that can get marijuana were asked who they would get it
from, 76 percent said a friend/classmate; 30 percent said that their
parents know the person supplying the marijuana.
--  Eighty-six percent of parents support social host laws that make it
illegal for parents to allow underage children (other than their own)
to drink in their home.
--  Seventy-five percent of teens say that teens they know who drink or
use drugs are more likely to engage in sexual activity.
--  Compared to teens who say that none of their friends drink regularly,
those whose friends drink on a regular basis are 13 times likelier to
have tried marijuana.
--  Teens who have tried tobacco are 12 times likelier to have used
marijuana compared to teens who have never tried tobacco.

This is my favorite quote from the press release:

“The combination of gangs and drugs in a school is a malignant cancer that must be eliminated if we are to be able to improve public education in our nation,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Founder and Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. “It is outrageous for states and localities to require parents to send their children to public schools infected with gangs and drugs. If adults faced gangs and drugs at their factories or offices each day they would protest, call the police, and if that failed, change jobs. Yet parents in many communities are expected to send their children to the same school, day after day, to face the menace of gangs and drugs.”

Is anyone really surprised by these numbers? Is private school really the only way to go?

School is scary.

Full CASA 2010 Teen Survey

Tagged as: education, family, health, learning