The majority of Harvard parents are not particularly worried about risky behavior such as drug or alcohol use among teens, to judge by the attendance at last week’s public meeting on results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. That survey covered a wide range of problematic behaviors, ranging from skipping breakfast to binge drinking, texting while driving, abuse of illegal or prescription drugs, and suicide attempts. The May 13 evening meeting in the Bromfield library drew only about 40 parents and community members. But those attendees discussed these and other serious issues for about two hours.
The results of the survey, which was conducted in the spring of 2014, were presented to the School Committee in mid-April. [See “Survey shows risky behaviors are widespread among Harvard teens,” April 30, 2015.] Bromfield administrators timed the public meeting for the season of proms and graduation parties, when students are often making decisions about such matters as drinking and driving.
How accurate was the survey?
One parent at the meeting raised a basic question when he asked about the validity of the survey results. He had heard, he said, that some kids were “just circling numbers” rather than giving honest answers.
Bromfield Principal Jim O’Shea responded that the close alignment of Harvard’s results with those of nearby communities, supported by the Bromfield staff’s own observations, suggested that the survey numbers were fairly accurate.
Susan Downing, school psychologist, said the survey indicated that 21 percent of last year’s juniors had considered suicide and 11 percent had attempted it, numbers that should be taken extremely seriously. While the percentages were higher than those for surrounding communities, she said, the Bromfield crisis team had already been aware of a majority of those cases, which suggested the figures were valid.
Parents raised several other concerns about the survey, such as whether particular questions differentiated between guns and pocketknives when asking about weapons in school, or between prescription drugs and illegal ones in questions about drug use. Guidance counselor Drew Skrocki, who was the point person with Emerson Hospital and the other area schools that took part, said one aspect of his job was to suggest ways to improve the survey when it is next given in 2016.
A zero-tolerance policy?
Some parents asked why Bromfield did not have a “zero-tolerance” policy on drugs and alcohol. Principal O’Shea said the school policy was very clear that the illegal use of drugs and alcohol was forbidden and would automatically result in suspension for five to eight days, with the additional possibility of expulsion. “A zero-tolerance policy,” he said, “implies that no thought process goes into the penalty,” whereas Bromfield has a range of possible penalties.
O’Shea acknowledged that he has heard rumors about which students might be involved with drugs. “When one kid gets identified,” he said, “that name goes around and around. … But I can’t persecute a child based on a name going around the community.”
The survey indicated that much teen drinking occurs in Harvard homes, but the questions did not distinguish between drinking done with parental knowledge and that done without it. People at the meeting suggested that more information on this difference would be helpful.
The high rate of binge drinking reported by last year’s seniors in Harvard, as compared to those in other towns nearby, raised concerns about alcohol poisoning. Parents agreed that teens need to know that someone who had had a lot to drink might not be “just sleeping it off,” and that calling emergency services could save a friend’s life.
With the prom coming just days after the meeting, several parents pointed out that the location students had chosen was the Tewksbury Country Club, which required driving a long way on Route 495. They asked O’Shea what steps the school was taking to address the issue of drinking and driving. O’Shea said that many students go together and hire limos for transportation. He also said that adult chaperones, school administrators, and Harvard police officers would all be present at the prom and alert to problems, and Breathalyzers would be in use.
Many parents did not seem satisfied with that response and asked why the school had not arranged for buses to transport students between Harvard and Tewksbury. O’Shea’s answer—that this was a decision for students to make—seemed to shock members of the audience. A parent who had recently moved here from Lexington said that the town always bused students to the prom and that there was no question of going any other way.
Both in this meeting and at the April School Committee presentation, school administrators emphasized the ways in which they seek to address problems that may be placing students at risk. Skrocki pointed out that the G+ Group is a wellness committee that usually meets weekly to discuss students who appear to be at risk or are having difficulties. This group can also be called together as a crisis team. In addition, there is a schoolwide advisory program for students to meet regularly with advisers.
The school’s health and wellness courses, a self-defense program, the “Get Real” sex education course, and a range of other educational components are available to give students guidance in problematic areas.
O’Shea emphasized that most Bromfield students seem to be coping well, at least during school hours. Teachers see these kids every weekday, he said, from about 7:30 a.m. until about 6 p.m. at most, and during those hours they seem to be doing well. But he reminded parents to be alert for problem behaviors that may take place mainly away from school, at night, or on weekends.
