Sunday, October 17, 1999
School recruits students for voluntary drug test
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
MASON — When educators began a voluntary random drug testing program 18 months ago at Mason High School, they didn't know what they might find.
There were only a handful of schools in the region — including Lloyd High School in Erlanger and Noblesville High School in Indiana — that had any sort of programs other than mandatory testing for student athletes.
After nearly 400 students — out of an enrollment of 1,392 — signed up last year, most kinks have been worked out, and a month-long recruiting effort is under way. “We've faced obstacle after obstacle but I think we've got it going,” said Carol Inskeep, who coordinates the program for the district.
Problems arose last year when the medical review officer for the Health Alliance, the agency Mason contracts with for testing, left and had to be replaced. That took more than two months, during which no screenings were conducted.
In spite of difficulties, 141 screens were conducted during the 1998-99 school year. Of those, four students tested positive for marijuana and one student tested positive for barbiturates, said Ms. Inskeep in a report to the board of education.
That compares to 36 screenings conducted during April and May 1998 when the program began. No one tested positive for drugs then.
The results are similar to those found at Lloyd High in Erlanger, which operates a mandatory random testing program for athletes and a voluntary Drug Free Club.
In the three years the voluntary club has been operating, there have been no positive results for members, said Principal John Riehemann. About 1 percent of the 500 screens done each month in Noblesville are positive, said Ruth Buell, the school's assistant principal.
Unlike Mason's program, where administrators do not get individual test results, Lloyd administrators get the weekly test results by student number, which are then matched up with students. Participants in the club who test positive lose membership, while athletes are subject to discipline beginning with a four-week participation suspension for a first offense.
“I think it's been very helpful,” Mr. Riehemann said. “At any given time, we have almost 50 percent of our students involved in the random testing.”
Club members are given an identification card, which allows them free admission to school athletic events and dances. They are also eligible for drawings that include Bengals and Reds tickets.
Mason's incentive for those who volunteer for the program is early release for juniors and seniors, if their schedule allows. In Noblesville, participat ing sophomores through seniors may leave campus for lunch. About 1,300 of the school's 1,732 students participate in the program, Ms. Buell said. She attributes it to the open campus incentive.
Mason board member Marianne Culbertson, whose daughter Shannon, 15, participates in the program, would like to see participation incentives beefed up. Overall, she says, the program is beneficial.
“Anything I can do to give Shannon — or any other kid — a reason to say no is a worthwhile thing,” she said.
Under Mason's program, a school board initiative that is modeled after Noblesville's, parents are mailed results if the screen is negative. If the test is positive, the family will receive a call from the medical review officer, who goes over the results with parents and may suggest treatment.
At the end of each school year, the district receives a report on how many tests were conducted and how many tested positive in each of nine categories.
“The most important part of this is when parents have the information what they do with it,” Ms. Inskeep said. “At the minimum — even if parents don't sign up for the program — they should have a conversation with their teen about drugs.”
Mason parent Diane Altherr said her daughter, Carrie, a senior, is in the program and she expects her son, Brian, a sophomore, to join, as well.
“I don't have a problem with testing. It's (drug abuse) a big problem. If we think it's not, we've got our heads stuck in the sand. There's a lot more out there than people realize,” Mrs. Altherr said.
'River water in our veins'
Tall Stacks, tall order
Today's Tall Stacks visitors information
Buses solution to traffic headache
Captain's descendants savor connection to river
Mark Twain Cincinnati
Tall Stacks boosts image, coffers
Souvenirs going faster than racing steamboat
Aboard the American Queen
You just can't build a river on short notice
Police kill suspect in scuffle
Hold the pork - council goes on a pre-election diet
Backers: Bike trail would be boon
Couple sells son, 14, on Internet for $400
GET TO IT
Issue 1 could save state money
Judge: E-mail seizures were legal
L.A. Reid: The man behind LaFace
Miami U. to build civil rights memorial
School recruits students for voluntary drug test
Tell that lunkhead to button it, then demand a refund
Gun law is new weapon in jail fight
Young drinkers: Here's what it's like to be an alcoholic
Comic 'Zits' a Nordic hit
For a pacifist, Martin Sheen plays a pretty good president
Area cellist helps Kennedy rock
Bill would manage new development
Chicago theater proves vibrant storytelling sells
Disney on Ice show glides over 75 years
Foes chip away at Patton
Good cultural base here, CCO finalist Yahr says
Growing up in 3-D
Laurel Homes planners hail inclusiveness
Life Skills Center opening on hold
Lt. Gov. won't seek another job
Maysville marvels at bridge
Ohio-made 'Dream Catcher' will premiere locally in Dayton
Radio wit Jean Shepherd dies
BENCHMARKS
TRISTATE DIGEST
Warren Co. cable net considered
