Tackling teen substance abuse in Lynbrook

By Clarissa Hamlin

chamlin@liherald.com

Underage drinking is a major concern in the Lynbrook School District, prompting administrators to find new solutions to treat it.

Results from a New York State youth development survey administered to seventh to 12th grade students in December point out high amounts of alcohol usage. High School freshman through seniors exceeded the county and Long Island averages for alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, marijuana, chewing tobacco, and other illicit drugs, over the past two weeks and 30 days before the survey, as well as over their lifetime, according to results released by the district earlier this month. The county and Long Island averages for lifetime alcohol use were approximately 55 percent for ninth through 12th grade, while Lynbrook’s students’ usage fell at a little more than 60 percent.

“We can no longer have this,” said Rob Kolb, the district’s physical education chairperson, at a board of education meeting on Oct. 5. “This is a concern. I understand kids will be kids, but this is a problem.”

The survey showed that 87.3 percent of 12th graders have already consumed alcohol in their lifetime, while 61 percent had consumed it 30 days prior to the December survey, according to Tom Graham, district athletic director. 45 percent had engaged in binge drinking, meaning five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks prior to the survey.

The survey, which students took anonymously, also found that teenagers are even drinking in their own homes or their friends’ homes.

All middle and high school students took the one and a half hour survey, which parents were notified about last year. The students were asked questions about their past 30 day use and lifetime use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, average age of their first use of any of those substances, and if they exhibit heavy use of alcohol and cigarettes. Also, students were asked about how they get alcohol and where they use it.