The WW-P school board has approved the implementation of a student contract for those who participate in extra and co-curricular activities on the high school level.##M:[more]##
The contract, officials say, will act as a deterrent for kids who might consider using drugs and alcohol or participating in other illegal activities, including on weekends, and help them be proactive in making good decisions. A similar contract has been in place for years for students who participate in athletic teams, but the new contract expands that to cover all after-school activities.
The contract prohibits students from using tobacco products, alcoholic beverages and controlled substances prohibited by state law, including drugs, narcotics, and steroids. It also sets guidelines for attendance, transportation arrangements to and from the after-school activity, conduct at school events, and hazing. The contract sets up consequences for first, second, and third-time offenders.
When the issue first came up for discussion at a meeting in June, board member Stan Katz said he was concerned that it might be too easy for savvy students to get out of receiving punishment by simply heading straight to a substance abuse counselor, but school officials said that the intention of the policy was to encourage students to seek help. Katz also questioned whether the policy would be implemented fairly, and officials at the high school said they would try their best to do so.
Thomas Smith, the assistant superintendent for pupil services and planning, said principals at both high schools will be sending letters home to parents in mid-August informing them of the new student contract. A copy of the contract will also be included in the student agenda book given to all students at the beginning of the year. dums, rather than just putting all of the construction into one. “It turned out to be a really good idea,” he says of the $59.7 million referendum. “The idea was that we got all the proposals passed.”
