Schools
School Board to Hear About Drug Use, Safety Concerns of Albany Kids
The school district's mental health counselor will present findings to the board tonight.
Tonight's Board of Education meeting will include a presentation from Shelly Ball, the Albany Unified School District mental health coordinator, about 2009-10 findings from a survey that collected information from students about drug use and safety.
The survey is collected every two years from students in grades five, seven, nine and 11.
Notably, compared with 2007 findings, 10 percent more 11th graders admitted drinking a full glass of alcohol (65 percent), and 8 percent more seventh graders said they'd had a drink (19 percent). Ninth graders showed an 8 percent drop (34 percent).
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Marijuana use was up 11 percent for 11th graders, to 50 percent, and 8 percent for seventh graders (11 percent). Cocaine experimentation was flat at 9 percent for 11th graders and six percent for ninth graders. Ecstasy use was up 7 percent for 11th graders (18 percent) and flat for ninth graders (8 percent).
Thirty two percent of 11th graders said they'd been drunk or high at school, and 22 percent admitted binge drinking in the 30 days before they were questioned for the survey.
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Eleventh graders indicated a five percent drop in depression, to 25 percent.
An increasing number of 11th graders said they feel safe at school, up 12 percent from 2007, to 35 percent. Four percent said they'd brought a gun to school and 21 percent said they'd experienced cyberbullying.
Fifteen percent more Asian youth said they experienced "school connectedness," up to 38 percent, and 7 percent more white students said they felt this, up to 41 percent. Hispanic youth showed a 7 percent drop in connectedness, to 22 percent. No data was available for black youth.
Overall, according to tonight's board packet, which is attached here, Albany youth show lower risk taking than state averages, Ball indicated. Reported violence and harrassment also are lower than state averages.
Check back on Albany Patch on Wednesday for more details about the topics covered tonight at the board meeting, which takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Community Center.