NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffPre-K to 8Service
"No" to random drug testing; "Yes" to a drug-free School
Jan 22, 2002 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Two years ago, in the spring of David Hicks’ first year as Darlington's new president, the School community voted on a proposal to require random drug testing for all students and faculty. The proposal narrowly failed to get the required two-thirds majority to pass. The president felt it was important to give the concept another chance and asked the House Senate to study and revise the proposal so that it could be presented again.
"I felt it was important for us to agree as a community that random drug testing is necessary," President Hicks says. However, despite the House Senate's conscientious work, the proposal was defeated again during a vote taken this fall. Per the requirements made by the House Senate in the proposal, random drug testing will not be presented for a vote again for three years, after all current students have graduated, so that a new group of students can consider the idea.
"Random drug testing is a bold initiative for a private school and more radical than most students and faculty unfortunately felt they could accept," Hick says. "Besides, incidents of known drug use have decreased significantly in the past few years, perhaps due to the success of the House system, so people may believe there is less reason for random drug testing."
In a presentation to the Board of Trustees during its winter meeting, Jill Pate, director of student counseling, presented an overview of next steps that the faculty and administration are taking to discourage drug use.
"Students were concerned that random drug testing would hurt the School’s image. Some also found giving urine samples embarrassing and thought that having students taken for testing during school would be disruptive to class work,” Pate said. “Some faculty members expressed their concern that the warm and caring relationships between faculty and students would be affected negatively if students feel that they are being regularly tested for drugs. Concerns about false positives and invading students’ privacy were also expressed.”
“Regardless, the faculty is totally committed to finding other ways of addressing the issue of drugs. In our in-service faculty day after the Christmas, all faculty members were divided into 12 groups to brainstorm ideas of how we eliminate drug use among our students," Pate says.
She described the function of the Student Support Team (SST), a program in which students and faculty can refer any student exhibiting unusual or negative behavior to one of the 12 adult SST members. Fourteen students also serve on SST.
All information about a referred student is completely confidential and kept within SST. An adult SST member visits the student who has been referred to express concern. A student who has been using drugs is asked to sign a no-use policy and is tested for drugs on a regular basis for the rest of the time he or she remains at Darlington.
"Referrals to SST have increased dramatically this winter," Pate notes. The group will be looking for ways to increase awareness of the positive role SST plays in intervention.
Other initiatives to discourage drug use at Darlington will be announced this spring.
"I felt it was important for us to agree as a community that random drug testing is necessary," President Hicks says. However, despite the House Senate's conscientious work, the proposal was defeated again during a vote taken this fall. Per the requirements made by the House Senate in the proposal, random drug testing will not be presented for a vote again for three years, after all current students have graduated, so that a new group of students can consider the idea.
"Random drug testing is a bold initiative for a private school and more radical than most students and faculty unfortunately felt they could accept," Hick says. "Besides, incidents of known drug use have decreased significantly in the past few years, perhaps due to the success of the House system, so people may believe there is less reason for random drug testing."
In a presentation to the Board of Trustees during its winter meeting, Jill Pate, director of student counseling, presented an overview of next steps that the faculty and administration are taking to discourage drug use.
"Students were concerned that random drug testing would hurt the School’s image. Some also found giving urine samples embarrassing and thought that having students taken for testing during school would be disruptive to class work,” Pate said. “Some faculty members expressed their concern that the warm and caring relationships between faculty and students would be affected negatively if students feel that they are being regularly tested for drugs. Concerns about false positives and invading students’ privacy were also expressed.”
“Regardless, the faculty is totally committed to finding other ways of addressing the issue of drugs. In our in-service faculty day after the Christmas, all faculty members were divided into 12 groups to brainstorm ideas of how we eliminate drug use among our students," Pate says.
She described the function of the Student Support Team (SST), a program in which students and faculty can refer any student exhibiting unusual or negative behavior to one of the 12 adult SST members. Fourteen students also serve on SST.
All information about a referred student is completely confidential and kept within SST. An adult SST member visits the student who has been referred to express concern. A student who has been using drugs is asked to sign a no-use policy and is tested for drugs on a regular basis for the rest of the time he or she remains at Darlington.
"Referrals to SST have increased dramatically this winter," Pate notes. The group will be looking for ways to increase awareness of the positive role SST plays in intervention.
Other initiatives to discourage drug use at Darlington will be announced this spring.
