By Randy Logue
Recent reports about student behavior problems at San Benito
High School came as no surprise to me or to many others who work at
the school.
Recent reports about student behavior problems at San Benito High School came as no surprise to me or to many others who work at the school.
As a teacher, I have seen the discipline problem growing over the last five to seven years.
This column is not written to cast blame, as there is plenty of it to go around. In my opinion, every party at the school – including the teaching staff, administration, school board, students, parents and classified staff – all have some role in this.
What I want to do is point out that the current situation can be traced back to the decision to rescind the school’s “zero-tolerance” policy. While this policy was in force, any student offense involving drugs, alcohol, weapons, gang activity or physical violence was automatically referred to the school board for an expulsion hearing.
This did not mean that every student accused of such an offense was expelled from school. It meant that the problem immediately came to the attention of the school board, which considered all of the factors and then made decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Even if a student wasn’t expelled by the board they knew it was serious and the “message” usually got across.
When the zero-tolerance policy was in effect, San Benito High was named a California Distinguished High School award winner three consecutive years. Our discipline program was a model for other school districts throughout California and we were once visited by the state superintendent of public instruction.
We were the envy of schools in our league and of administrators around the area, and our students and staff flourished.
Since the board voted to eliminate the zero-tolerance policy, it is apparent that the “kinder, gentler” SBHS is not as successful.
We have lost the drug detection dogs on campus. We no longer videotape students and we haven’t had an undercover drug sting operation since the last one helped UNET break up a major narcotics ring.
The language that I hear on campus can at times be disgusting. Officer Rich Brown, the school resource officer, made a great comment in a recent Free Lance article about the fact that it is 1 percent of the kids who make it tough on the other kids and the staff.
Another program we have lost is the screening of students coming into the high school out of eighth grade. Some kids came to San Benito High School on discipline contracts.
In terms of sheer numbers, if there are 3,000 kids at the high school, then 1 percent is 30 students. If you remove those 30, the vast majority of kids who are sitting on the fence will get the message.
One of the other things that is lost in this equation is that those 30 are not having their needs met at SBHS, which is a large comprehensive high school.
For those kids to flourish they may need a different school setting, whether it be continuation school, independent study or some other program.
My last point is strictly about the increase in drug- and alcohol-related discipline problems at the school and how critical it is that we reverse this trend.
Dave Tari, the school trainer, and I have both been athletic directors at school. We firmly believe that we need to start a drug testing and counseling program at the high school.
No matter what your personal beliefs about the use of alcohol and other drugs, I would hope that everyone would agree that school is not a place where kids should be using or selling drugs or alcohol or where they should be exposed to them.
The school is aware of the problem and now is a great opportunity for us to do something about it. We have a new school board, new superintendent, and a new human resources director.
I urge these new leaders, as well as the staff, students and all parents to work together to ensure the health, safety, and success of all of our students, even the 1 percent who might be most responsible for the current discipline problem.
Hollister resident Randy Logue is a teacher and coach San Benito High School.
