From the Desk of the Superintendent
By Mike Mathes
July 01, 2007
Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are not only adult problems -- they also affect a significant number of adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 20, even though drinking under the age of 21 is illegal.
According to Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Chairman and President of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University the average age when youth first try alcohol is 11 years for boys and 13 years for girls. The average age at which Americans begin drinking regularly is 15.9 years old.
Research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. An early age of drinking onset is also associated with alcohol-related violence not only among persons under age 21 but among adults as well.
It has been estimated that over three million teenagers are out-and-out alcoholics. Several million more have a serious drinking problem that they cannot manage on their own. The three leading causes of death for 15- to 24-year-olds are automobile crashes, homicides and suicides -- alcohol is a leading factor in all three.
Lack of parental support, monitoring, and communication have been significantly related to frequency of drinking, heavy drinking, and drunkenness among adolescents.
The Seaman administration and Board of Education feel it is time for our district to take a stand on this issue. After months of research and discussion a committee of teachers, coaches and board members have presented the Board a standardized policy for extra-curricular activities outlining specific consequences for students who illegally use tobacco, alcohol or drugs.
The first course of action may be to implement a randomized drug-testing program for all students who participate in any extra-curricular activity. This includes drama, band, debate, all extracurricular activities, not just sports. It may include any student who uses the school parking lot. Details of this program have not been finalized at this time.
With alcohol consumption discipline will range from a first offense consequence of suspension from 2 days of competition, a second offense forfeiture of one calendar year of competition, to a third offense consequence of forfeiting all remaining eligibility for district activities.
Recent studies indicate that teen drinking can lead to poor performance in school, difficulty in simple math or the inability to read a map. They also dispel the notion that a person could sustain heavy drinking for several years before causing neurological damage. Adolescent alcohol abuse and dependence may prove to be more damaging than alcoholism in adulthood by killing brain cells in the hippocampus, blocking brain receptors that form memories and causing protracted neurological impairments.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego said "At the very least, the findings of this research should raise a red flag for parents and policy-makers.” On behalf of the students of USD 345 the Board of Education has just raised that flag.
Mr. Mike Mathes Superintendent of Schools
