Principal Mark Kelly says the number of alcohol and drug related suspensions is down from 16 last year to just two so far this year.
By Hans Laetz/Special to The Malibu Times
As the prom and graduation season approaches, Malibu High School administrators say they think alcohol and drug problems may be in decline this year. The number of alcohol and drug related suspensions has plummeted from 16 last year to two so far this year.
“Maybe it’s just a different group of kids this year,” said Dr. Mark Kelly, three quarters through his first year as principal at the school. “But we have gotten the word out and been more persistent with our message.”
Aggressive alcohol and drug outreach efforts were a priority at Malibu High School this year, after a pair of widely-publicized incidents in 2003-2004 caused a black eye for the school and concern that alcohol abuse in particular was increasing. Students were suspended and some were transferred off the campus after children were caught drunk on an out-of-town field trip, and others were detected to have consumed alcohol en route to last year’s prom. Community concern grew, and the increased use of alcohol became a major complaint by parents seeking a charter school or separate school district for Malibu.
Kelly said he credits intervention and prevention programs with reducing the problem this year. Malibu High joined the ranks of most other California high schools when students formed an Alcoholics Anonymous chapter this year. A half-dozen kids reportedly attend it.
The Malibu Boys and Girls Club has also aggressively targeted older students this year, and has started Saturday night activities limited to upper-class students.
“We started last year to brainstorm ideas,” Kelly said. “Education, prevention, intervention and other action from counselors, parents, teachers, students and administrators has been involved.”
Kelly said suspensions this year are primarily linked to behavioral problems such as defiance of teachers in the classroom. The principal said he strives to make sure teachers and staff take action against students only for specific acts, not for the general behavior of the pupil “It’s got to be a response to the behavior and not the kid when we suspend,” Kelly said.