Foothills drug-prevention session
> School to increase testing of students involved in all interscholastic activities, not just athletes <
By Jamar Younger
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Catalina Foothills High School officials will revisit a dark chapter in the school's history on Nov. 14 when the school hosts a drug-prevention session for students, parents and staff members.
The high school will host a "Listen and Learn" session at the high school to discuss the dangers of drug abuse and open up a dialogue between parents, students and school officials.
The school will also increase its random, confidential drug testing to include students who participate in all Arizona Interscholastic Association activities, not just athletes.
That means members of the school's chess clubs, debate team and marching band would have to undergo drug tests, which would be conducted by each student's parents, said Principal Loren Rathert.
The parents will not be required to let the school know the results, though they will have to let the school know they received the drug testing kit, Rathert said.
The school already tests athletes for drugs.
The substance abuse session and expanded drug testing comes more than two years after three students were arrested at the high school for possessing black-tar heroin.
Rathert heard about the arrests when he interviewed for the job, and gradually uncovered details of the arrests and other stories of drug use after he began his principalship this year, he said.
"It's been kind of in the background discussion," he said. "I didn't know what it meant in terms of what's happening in the school now."
There haven't been any major incidents at the school this year, and the school has increased security, he said.
There have been a couple of instances where teachers believed some students might've been under the influence, he said.
Rathert could not say what happened to the students because of privacy issues, but the school's discipline policy calls for a long-term suspension ranging from 10 days to two years, he said.
The school does offer parents the opportunity to have their child tested for drugs. If the test is negative, then the school voids the suspension and readmits the student, he said.
Rathert holds monthly meetings with law enforcement officials and also met with a drug enforcement agent in October, he said.
"We talked about what we needed to do to attack drug issues," he said. "I thought about what role the school could play in leading the dialogue."
A Pima County sheriff's deputy will make a presentation at the session and Rathert will present the results of a survey given to students earlier this year that discusses perceptions about drug use, he said.
He will compare the results of the survey with the results of a similar survey given in 2006, he said.
Rathert also has asked former students and members of a drug-prevention task force formed by the school district in 2005 to speak at the session, he said.
Some students and parents have varying opinions on whether the session will be effective.
"I'm very in favor of these types of information lectures. I'm also in favor of drug testing," said parent Peggy Zumbusch, whose son is a freshman at the school. "It makes the kids aware and the parents aware."
Zumbusch has lived in the school district for about 19 years and also had a daughter who attended the high school.
The heroin arrests two years ago exposed an issue that people ignored, she said.
"I knew it was there, but it didn't seem like it was a concern," she said. "I don't think people believe we have drug issues."
"We probably have more issues because there is more money," she added.
Alex Yusupov, 16, said he is not convinced that the session will have much of an impact.
"They've tried these things before but people end up doing what they want," said Yusupov, a junior at the high school.
Yusupov hasn't heard too many conversations about the arrests, but the topic comes up periodically, he said.
"Sometimes it comes up and we are called 'Heroin High,' mostly as a joke," he said, referring to Sabino and Canyon del Oro high school students who mock Catalina Foothills students.
Sophomore Michael Phillips, 16, said he has seen changes since he enrolled at the high school as a freshman.
Phillips pointed to the availability of voluntary drug tests for all students and increased security as reasons for the improvement.
"When I first got here, everyone called it Heroin High," Phillips said. "(Now) I don't hear anyone talk about it."
● Contact reporter Jamar Younger at 434-4076 or jyounger @azstarnet.com.
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