Teach standards of right and wrong and demonstrate these standards through personal example.
Children who are brought up to value individual responsibility and self-discipline and to have a clear sense of right and wrong are less likely to try drugs than those who are not. Parents can help to instill these ideals by:
- Setting a good example for children and not using drugs themselves.
- Explaining to their children at an early age that drug use is wrong, harmful, and unlawful, and reinforcing this teaching throughout adolescence.
- Encouraging self-discipline through giving children everyday duties and holding them accountable for their actions.
- Establishing standards of behavior concerning drugs, drinking, dating, curfews, and unsupervised activities, and enforcing them consistently and fairly.
- Encouraging their children to stand by their convictions when pressured to use drugs.
Northside High School,
Atlanta, Georgia
Northside High School enrolls 1,400 students from 52 neighborhoods. In 1977, drug use was so prevalent that the school was known as "Fantasy Island." Students smoked marijuana openly at school, and police were called to the school regularly.
The combined efforts of a highly committed group of parents and an effective new principal succeeded in solving Northside's drug problem. Determined to stop drug use both inside and outside the school, parents organized and took the following actions:
- Formed parent-peer groups to learn about the drug problem and agreed to set curfews, to chaperone parties, and to monitor their children's whereabouts. They held community meetings to discuss teenage drug use with law enforcement agents, judges, clergy, and physicians.
- Established a coalition that lobbied successfully for State antidrug and antiparaphernalia laws.
- Offered assistance to the schools. The school acted on the parents' recommendations to provide drug prevention education to teachers, update its prevention curriculum, and establish a new behavior code. Parents also helped design a system for monitoring tardiness and provided volunteer help to teachers.
The new principal, Bill Rudolph, also committed his energy and expertise to fighting the drug problem. Rudolph established a tough policy for students who were caught possessing or dealing drugs. "Illegal drug offenses do not lead to detention hall but to court," he stated. When students were caught, he immediately called the police and then notified their parents. Families were given the names of drug education programs and were urged to participate. One option available to parents was drug education offered by other parents.
Today, Northside is a different school. In 1984-85, only three drug-related incidents were reported. Academic achievement has improved dramatically; student test scores have risen every year since the 1977-78 school year. Scores on standardized achievement tests rose to well above the national average, placing Northside among the top schools in the district for the 1984-85 school year.