District seeks $1.1 million to reduce student drinking
By NINA BARRINGER
Article published on Thursday, April 19, 2007  |
LARGO – During its regular meeting April 10, the Pinellas County School Board approved a plan allowing district officials to seek nearly $1.1 million in federal grants to fund an alcohol abuse prevention program.
The Student Alcohol Reduction Project, a proposed three-year effort, would begin in July.
Implementation at the school level would focus on four high schools identified in the county’s 2006 Prevalence of Substance Use Survey, district officials said. Those unidentified schools, the study revealed, have high rates of alcohol use and binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks in a sitting.
Study data has not yet been released.
About 80 percent of the grant money would cover personnel costs, including counselors who would implement a comprehensive alcohol education program, based on the district’s Too Good for Drugs curriculum.
A district-level counselor would coordinate alcohol prevention efforts at the remaining high schools, as well as collaborate with law enforcement and others to offer a binge-drinking education program for students and parents.
These counselors also would organize a peer teaching program involving medical magnet students, who would be trained to provide the Too Good for Drugs after-school activities program to younger students in school and community settings.
In addition, parent-student prevention classes would be co-taught by counselors and law enforcement. A Youth Summit on Underage Drinking also would help increase public awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol abuse.
“(The Youth Summit) will be a youth-led event designed to increase awareness and provide education,” said Jan Urbanski, supervisor of Safe and Drug Free Schools. “The format of the event will be decided by students if the grant is awarded. It will likely be held at the end of the year around prom and graduation time.”
This year, the Florida-based Keep Kids Drug Free Foundation is providing grants to local high schools, including East Lake and Tarpon Springs, to host graduation parties that are drug-free and alcohol-free.
Dianne Clarke, KKDF trustee and chief operating officer of St. Petersburg-based Operation PAR, said these funds are made available through the sale of Keep Kids Drug Free specialty license plates.
Although alcohol continues to be the most frequently used substance, there is a declining trend in the category of recent alcohol use, or within the past 30 days, according to the 2004 Prevalence of Substance Use Survey.
“Recent alcohol use becomes more common with each increase in grade level,” Urbanski said. “In 2004, 1 percent of fifth-grade students reported recent use, 5.5 percent of sixth-grade students reported recent use, 19.1 percent of eighth-grade students reported recent use, 32.2 percent of 10th-grade students reported recent use and 41 percent of 12th-grade students reported recent use.”
According to Urbanski, the 2004 report did not consider age of onset or socioeconomic status in its study of student alcohol use.
“In grades 8, 10 and 12, more white students than non-white report recent alcohol consumption,” she said. “The survey does not ask what they are drinking but does look at recent alcohol use by setting. In 2004, the data showed that the most frequent setting was a party followed by friend’s home, and home.”
As health education becomes elective, Urbanski said, the need for a program specific to alcohol reduction increases for the 2007/2008 school year.
“Health education requirements are changing at the high school level next year, so there will be even less time allocated for this topic,” she explained. “Additionally, a more comprehensive approach is needed to impact the rate of alcohol use. This grant will establish community partnerships and involve parents and families in addressing the problem.”
Research, Urbanski said, indicates that involving the parents and working to include the community to change social norms are effective ways to reduce alcohol use.
“There are a variety of dangers associated with underage alcohol use. In addition to the health implication involved with alcohol consumption by a growing adolescent, research shows that teens who consume alcohol engage in more risky behaviors such as unprotected sex or driving while intoxicated,” Urbanski said.
A comprehensive, multi-year evaluation is planned to measure the program’s effectiveness and analyze its impact on rates of alcohol use and binge drinking, as well as student attitudes toward drinking.
|
Article published on Thursday, April 19, 2007
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
