Hollister
– Discipline incidents at San Benito High School are at a
three-year high with a significant increase seen in drug- and
alcohol-related offenses, according to a report released by the
district this week.
Hollister – Discipline incidents at San Benito High School are at a three-year high with a significant increase seen in drug- and alcohol-related offenses, according to a report released by the district this week.
Nearly all types of discipline incidents have seen their highest number of occurrences since 2003-04, causing administrators at the high school to examine the reason for the increase and address strategies to diminish the class disruptions and behavior problems.
The biannual release of San Benito High School’s Discipline report showed that the fall semester of 2006-07 saw 187 overall discipline incidents, while the fall of 2004-05 and 2005-06 saw 141 and 142 respectively. The increase of incidences is a return to 2003-04, when the school saw another spike in disciplinary problems with 199 discipline incidents.
Drug- and alcohol-related offenses have seen the most significant increase this year, showing 35 percent more incidents than in the first semester of 2005-06. This increase has caused concern among staff and students at SBHS.
“There’s a lot of drugs everywhere on campus,” said Maxx Pirtle, a freshman at SBHS. His friend Katherine Rowe, a sophomore, agreed, saying the increase in the number of incidents was not a surprise to her.
But despite the feeling from students that drugs are prevalent, administrators are uncertain if the increase in incidents has been related to more effective methods of catching students.
“We have seen an increase in incidents,” said Deborah Padilla, principal at SBHS, “but we’re not quite sure if it’s a real increase or we’re catching (the problems) better. Either way it’s not acceptable.”
Padilla said the school is attempting to address these problems with preventative measures. They have implemented new training programs throughout the year to teach students about respect and to train staff on how to communicate with students before an incident escalates.
In addition to preventative measures, the school is also considering a change in punitive measures. Padilla said the school has changed its consequences for verbal altercations, after seeing a continuous increase in the number of incidents. Verbal altercations can be anything from a verbal fight to repeated use of improper language. A verbal altercation now results in a suspension rather than detention.
Administrators are hoping this will result in a decrease in the number of incidents, which has increased steadily, from fall of 2004-05 when 26 verbal offenses took place, and fall of 2005-06 when 63 offenses took place, to fall of 2006-07 when 81 offenses took place.
Despite the changes, some teachers think more changes in disciplinary measures need to take place, particularly for drug- and alcohol-related offenses, where the increase has been most drastic.
“I believe our drug and alcohol policies need to be revisited, reviewed and revived,” said Mitch Huerta, who teaches social studies at SBHS. “We need clear and immediate consequences. We need to be proactive, not reactive.”
Huerta says drug and alcohol problems are a particular problem among youth in Hollister, due to boredom.
Administrators and teachers can’t pinpoint the exact reasons for the increase in discipline problems.
“It really does tend to go up and down depending on the year and the students, so it’s really hard to say,” Padilla said. “We’re hoping that with the new preventative measures that we’ll see a decrease.”
Duane Morgan, assistant principal at SBHS, said that even in years when the number of discipline incidents go down, it’s always important to keep it as a focus.
“It’s always been a thing you have to keep a handle on, otherwise it can get out of hand. We discuss it every week. It’s always on the front burner,” Morgan said.
Rich Brown, the school resource officer, said he thinks that despite the increase, students at San Benito feel safe
“I would say that as far as crime, it is just a very small population of offenders,” Brown said. “One percent gives us 99 percent of our business. The majority are just really nice young people.”
Alice Joy covers education at the Free Lance. You can reach her at 831.637.5566 ext. 336 or at
aj**@fr***********.com
.
