head of school r e p o rt

2011

s p e c i a l e d i t i o n

Dear Middle and Upper School Families,

As many of you know, we identified substance abuse education as one of the key community initiatives that we will undertake. Beginning last year, we have taken stepsto strengthen our curriculum and our advisory program to better address this area. Inaddition, we contracted with FCD Educational Services to bring their expertise to our campus and to work with our young people and parents. As part of working with FCD, we conducted a survey this past spring of our grade 7-12 students.

The FCD Student Attitudes and Behavior Survey is extensive and is designed to help school communities understand young people’s knowledge, understanding, and skills related to alcohol and other drug use. The primary goal of the survey is to better support and more effectively tailor Episcopal Collegiate School’s efforts to help our students make more informed and healthier decisions about substance use.

Over the past several weeks, FCD and the School have analyzed the survey results seeking to understand patterns and themes in our young people’s responses. In that regard, FCD used the most relevant survey data when working with our students during their most recent visit. In addition, we will use the survey results to help us design our future substance use education efforts and strategies.

“The teen brain is a work in progress, making it more vulnerable than the mature brain to the physical effects of drugs. The potential for developing substance abuse and dependence is substantially greater when an individual’s first exposure to alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs occurs during adolescence than in adulthood.”

- Laurence Steinberg, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology, Temple University

Summary of the FCD Student Attitudes and Behavior Survey

In consultation with one of the pioneering researchers in Social Norms theory, FCD developed a student attitudes and behavior survey for middle and secondary school students. Based on the Social Norms model, the survey measures levels of student alcohol and other drug use, as well as student perceptions of their peers’ use. Researchers have found that the more use students think there is, the more use there will be – even if the perception is wrong. And studies show that these perceptions are wrong: Young people consistently overestimate alcohol and other drug use by their peers, which in turn leads to greater use. They also incorrectly ascribe to their peers attitudes that condone risky behavior (e.g., “It’s cool to get drunk”), when, in fact, their peers are far more prudent and health conscious.

School-based prevention programs aimed at identifying and correcting mistaken normative beliefs have been shown to lower actual levels of use. The use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs decreases when students realize that far fewer of their peers are engaging in risky behaviors, and/or support such behavior, than they had previously believed.

Based on this understanding of the relationship between perception and use, FCD and Episcopal Collegiate decided to administer the FCD Student Attitudes and Behavior Survey to students in grades 7-12 as a means of better understanding student attitudes and behaviors, and integrating Social Norms theory into the school’s approach to substance abuse prevention.

Survey Sample

There were 349 students in grades 7-12 last spring when the survey was administered. 241 students returned consent forms and took the on-line survey on May 3rd and 4th, 2011. The students were given unique identification numbers and the process was completely anonymous, that is, there was no way anyone at the school could know what ID number a student was given nor was there any way for anyone at the school to trace back specific answers given by individual students.

A final total of 226 surveys were analyzed by FCD (15 surveys were not included by FCD due to untruthful and/or frivolous answers by students, misreported grade level, or contradictions in responses.) An average of 65% of the students in each grade level (7-12) participated in the survey. 132 girls completed the survey compared to 94 boys.

Key Conclusions by FCD

FCD spent a great deal of time studying the data from the Student Attitudes and Behavior Survey conducted at Episcopal Collegiate. The findings suggest that with regard to alcohol and other drug use, the vast majority of Episcopal Collegiate students hold positive beliefs, engage in responsible decision making, and exhibit healthy behaviors. There is, however, a trend of increasing alcohol use from 8th grade to 12th grade. For example, 14.9% of 8th graders reported having at least one whole drink of alcohol in the past 30 days and this total rises to 40.0% in the 12th grade. This trend is consistent with national norms and the levels for Episcopal Collegiate students remain below or on par with U.S. norms.

Summary of Key Substance Use Results

• 87% of all students have not smoked a cigarette within the past 12 months.

• Alcohol use by Episcopal Collegiate students is below or on par with U.S. norms for lifetime and past-12-months use, and is below

or on par with U.S. norms for past-30-days use.

• 88% of students either do not drink at all, or typically drink once a month or less.

• 82% of 9th-12th graders either do not drink at all, or typically drink once a month or less.

• 35% of students, ages 15-19, who drank within the past 12 months, drove after drinking on at least 1 occasion.

• Marijuana use by Episcopal Collegiate students is below or on par with U.S. norms for lifetime, past-12-months, and past-30-days measures.

• 85% of Episcopal Collegiate students report that they “have never used marijuana at all.”

Summary of Key School and Family Climate Findings

• 87% of all students believe “it’s easy to make friends at this school without drinking alcohol.”

• 88% of all students feel “valued as a person” at Episcopal Collegiate.

• 92% of all students feel that “teachers and school staff care about me as a student.”

• The vast majority of students agree with statements that suggest high levels of parental interest, involvement, and supervision.

• 78% of students have at least one adult on campus that they trust and can talk to when they are worried about something.

• 67% of students say their parents’ attitude towards teenage drinking is “drinking is never a good thing to do.”

• 54% of students would feel comfortable talking to their parents about their own use/abuse of alcohol or drugs.

• 59% of students would feel comfortable talking to their parents about a friend’s use/abuse of alcohol or drugs.

• The majority of students (52%) think it would be easy to get alcohol from home.

• 54% of students would feel comfortable talking to their parents about their own use/abuse of alcohol or drugs.

• 59% of students would feel comfortable talking to their parents about a friend’s use/abuse of alcohol or drugs.

Social Norms Model

The Social Norms model is based on the fact that young people consistently and dramatically overestimate alcohol and other drug use by their peers and elders. At the same time, they underestimate healthy behaviors practiced by their peers (e.g., abstention, limiting consumption). This is disturbing because research shows that normative beliefs (student perceptions as to the prevalence and acceptability of drug use amongst one’s peer group and close friends) are a strong predictor of the level of actual alcohol and other drug use in a school community. Alcohol and other drug use is less prevalent in schools where non-use is recognized as an acceptable and common choice, and student misperceptions regarding the actual amount of drug use are corrected.

In general, Episcopal Collegiate students dramatically overestimate alcohol and marijuana use, and underestimate abstinence from alcohol and marijuana use, on the part of their peers. This attitude is illustrated by the different responses to questions about whether students think it is “cool to get drunk.” While only 12% of students think “it is cool to get drunk,”42% believe that their classmates think “it is cool to get drunk.”

As additional examples of this gap between perception and reality, the survey yielded this information about a few of our high school classes:

• 77% of one class say they typically never drink.

Yet, only 6% of that same class assume abstinence on the part of their classmates.

• 9% of one class say they drink once a week or more.

Yet, 75 % of this same class believes that their classmates drink at this rate.

• 92% of one class report typically never using marijuana.

Yet, only 23% of that same class believe that students in their grade typically never use marijuana.

There were many other examples of this striking divide between actual and perceived behaviors and attitudes. Theses false normative beliefs and assumptions can be a factor in the increasing rates of alcohol use as students get older.

FCD’s Concluding Remarks

As schools examine the data contained in this report, there is sometimes a tendency to focus on “negative” results to the exclusion of those students making healthy decisions and behaving responsibly. While students engaged in risky, irresponsible behavior pose a threat to themselves and the school community, there are far more students at Episcopal Collegiate making healthy decisions. These students can be a powerful force for maintaining and strengthening the health of the school.

As a community, Episcopal Collegiate has set substance abuse prevention as a priority. Survey results show a strong need for a continuing and intensified program. Episcopal Collegiate has a strong foundation of non-using students. We believe that these students support the school efforts to maintain a healthy community, with the majority of students finding the school policies and enforcement “about right.” Episcopal Collegiate should take pride in its commitment to prevention, and rest assured that ongoing efforts will continue to maintain and strengthen the health of the individual student and the school community.

Next Steps

As we move forward, targeted efforts will address the gaps between actual behavior and perceptions. It is critical that we work to dispel the myths about abstinence and overestimation of use and promote the realities by empowering our students to continue making positive, healthy choices. In the coming months, we will design a program that builds on the healthy perceptions, attitudes and behaviors present in the vast majority of Episcopal Collegiate students. In addition, we will continue to strengthen our students’ understanding and knowledge concerning substance use through a variety of advisory, chapel and curriculum-based activities and presentations.

Stephen D. HickmanHead of School

Jackson T. Stephens Campus1701 Cantrell Road

Rock, Arkansas 72201501.372.1194

episcopalcollegiate.org