Drugs find their way into local schools

Schools are in a tough spot.

They can do their best to keep students from using drugs. They can host drug-prevention assemblies, bring in drug-sniffing dogs and build relationships with local law enforcement agencies to keep up with the trends.

Still, some students will show up to school high.

Schools in the region put a tremendous effort in keeping kids safe and well-educated, but there is always going to be that one or two youth that find a way to infiltrate the securities that be, said David Fialko, prevention specialist with the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania. You dont want to send up the red flags that schools are a drug haven, but kids can get substances in school.

When that happens, when parents see their child go from honor roll to rolling joints, from shooting hoops to shooting up, it is often schools that receive part of the blame.

Take Janet, a Hilltown mother of five, whose 21-year-old son is a recovering addict.

She believes she can pinpoint the exact moment things went wrong in his life: three years ago, when the athletic high-achiever ended up in a remedial math class his senior year at Pennridge High School.

He began hanging out with a new group of friends and started going to school high almost every day.

Thats where it all went to hell in a handbasket, Janet said. Within four weeks, he became a different kid, an absolute different kid. It was like he was angry at the world.

By graduation, Janets oldest son was on the path toward harder drugs, a path that would eventually lead him to an extended stay in rehab, mere days away from trying heroin because it was cheaper than the cocaine and prescription drugs he had been using.

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Drugs find their way into local schools