Texas Elementary School Celebrates Red Ribbon Week

From Ennis Daily News in Texas:

In recognition of drug-free month and Red Ribbon Week, “Ennis Independent School District Police Chief Ross Jones spoke to Bowie Elementary students Monday about the importance of staying drug free.”

Jones warned the students about inhalants and said, “We need them to love themselves. When they do that they know not to put anything in their body that would hurt them.”

For the week, each day had a creative theme to promote being drug-free.

• On Monday, drug-free bracelets were distributed and students signed drug free pledge cards
• On Tuesday, it was “Trash out Drugs” where students helped support the new recycling program at the school.
• Wednesday was “plant the promise and stomp out drugs.” Students wore sunglasses and boots and planted wildflowers in designated areas.
• On Thursday, students will ““sock it to drugs” by wearing silly socks and attending a motivational assembly.
• Friday is “Hugs not Drugs” day, with students bringing stuffed animals to school.

3rd Grader Suspended for Sniffing Marker

8-year-old Eathen Harris of Colorado was initially suspended for three days after sniffing a stripe of Magic Marker off of his shirt repeatedly even after a teacher told him to stop.


The punishment was reduced to one day of suspension, but Eathen's parents believe this is still too harsh. They argue that the school,

"automatically assumed that he was huffing a marker. He is in third grade, he's 8 years old. And I think that's a ridiculous assumption.”

The prinicipal, Christopher Benisch, stands by the disciplinary action. He says that they,

"really want to send a clear message to that student and the other students that we're responsible for that. This is a real true danger.”

Was this punishment too harsh? Do you think that the 8-year-old was inhaling the marker intentionally or just trying to be funny? What other options could the school have explored besides suspension?

Teens Teach Elementary Schools

Woodmore Elementary School in Port Clinton, Ohio runs a program called TAG, an acronym which stands for Teen Advisor Group. It's comprised of teenage students from the local high school, and they are carefully screened for being drug and alcohol free, being active in their school, and having good grades. They need to be able to afford to miss school once a month in order to talk to elementary schools about medicines, marijuana, drugs, and inhalants. Two teens are assigned to each class, and they always present their information to the same group of kids so that they can develop a good rapport. It seems to be working:

At the end of the year, Wendt asks the students in 4th through 6th grades to fill out an evaluation measuring what they learned through the TAG programs. "It's amazing, some of the comments they come up with," she said. Student responses have been very positive. Some have written, "I hope I can be in TAG when I get older," and "I wish you could come every day."

The TAG program is taking their message a step farther and doing something new this year. Next month, TAG members will present "Take It Back," a youth-led forum presented to the community on the responsibility of the town to protect its youth from the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

This forum will be held March 6th from 6:30 - 7:30. We applaud Woodmore and their efforts to teach children about inhalant abuse at an early age.

Drug and Alcohol Survey in Texas

350,000 students in grades 4-12 are taking the Texas School Survey of Drug and Alcohol Use, which asks age-appropriate questions in order to procure the most accurate information about what substances children have used in the past. Their most recent survey from 2004 provides some startling facts about inhalants. For children in grades 4 through 6, inhalants were the second most common drug, with more children using them than cigarettes and marijuana combined. Other interesting facts taken from the survey:

• The average age that elementary students first used inhalants was 9.4 years.
• Increases in inhalant use between 2002-2004 were larger in girls than in boys.
• Students not living with both parents were more likely to report inhalant use than students from two-parent families.
• The most commonly used inhalant was correction fluid, followed by glue, spray paint, and gasoline.
• More than half of lifetime inhalant users admitted having used at least two different kinds of inhalants.

From the survey of students in grades 7-12:

• Younger students were two to three times more likely to use inhalants than older students.
• An average of 17% of high-school students have used inhalants.
• 54% of students thought that it was easy or somewhat easy to get inhalants.
• Correction fluid and liquid or spray paint were the most common inhalants, followed by nitrous oxide, gasoline, and paint thinner.

To reiterate: it is never too early to start talking to your kids about inhalant use.