lum that begins in kindergarten and
continues through high school.
Called “ Here’s Looking at You,
2000,” the course focuses on known
risk factors such as having friends
that use drugs or living in a family
with members who use drugs.
The program focuses on dangers
of drugs that increase the risks of
using other drugs (nicotine, alcohol
and m arijuana, for example) and
offers clear messages to students to
“say no” to drugs.
Teaching students how to lead
healthy lives in a society which is not
drug-free — and identifying and
providing support to students who
h av e d ru g - an d a lc o h o l-a b u s e
problems
are goals of the Portland
School D istrict’s education and pre
vention programs.
Raising student awareness of the
dangers of drugs and alcohol and
training staff members to recognize
and help students who are addicted
is not enough, however.
M ore needs exist for drug-and-
alcohol prevention than the school
district and com m unity are now
addressing. The objective now is to
find new — and better — means of
meeting those needs.
BUILDING
IMPROVEMENTS
Portland’s aging physical plant
embraces an investment of close to
$1 billion, representing more than
100 school buildings spread over 152
square miles.
No new school buildings are con
tem plated, even though Portland’s
stu d e n t e n ro llm en t o f 53,000 is
expected to increase slightly in the
next few years.
And, thanks to efficiencies and
financial planning, a long-range
program of restoration, renovation
and m ajor maintenance is expected
to accom m odate the school district’s
needs for the next five years.
FACING
NEW CHALLENGES
AIDS
America’s public school systems
and their A ID S victims
students
and staff members — have been
traumatized because of public hysteria
about the complex disease.
Children, innocent recipients of
contam inated blood transfusions,
have been ostracized and denied
access to classrooms. Their family
homes have been torched to match
mass ignorance surrounding past
“plagues.”
The Portland School District is
determined to avoid those disruptions
and agonies by stressing confiden
tiality and protecting the health and
safety of all stu d e n ts and sta ff
members.
The superintendent, school board
chairperson, county and state health
officials in September acknowledged
the existence of A ID S cases in
Portland Public Schools — and the
certainty of more cases in the future.
Since that time, the school district
has been holding A IDS workshops
for all employees, involving staff and
com m unity health specialists and
stressing facts, safety m ethods and
valid information sources.
The school district also has devel
oped special kits, including sterile
gloves, for distribution to all school
employees for use in first-aid or
clean-up circum stances involving
blood and other body fluids.
O regon’s new A ID S curriculum is
being introduced through teacher
workshops and physicians and other
health specialists will be used as
inform ation sources for students,
staff members and parents.
CHILD ABUSE
R eports of child abuse, rising
alarmingly during the past few years,
are high priorities to Portland Public
S c h o o ls ’ ow n la w -e n fo rc e m e n t
agency.
Last year 712 suspected cases were
reported, an increase of nearly 200
cases from the previous year. School
police officers attribute some of that
startling increase to improved aware
nesses in students and staff members
about child abuse.
Approxim ately 90-95 percent of
all suspected child-abuse cases are
confirmed, according to Portland
School Police statistics. The tragedy
in those statistics prom pted devel
opm ent of strict regulations concern
ing the reporting of suspected abuse
cases.
Portland School District policies
require any school employee dis
covering possible abuse or apparent
neglect involving a student to report
those circumstances to the school
police.
D uring school hours, a school
police officer responds in person to
such calls from school personnel,
concerned friends, neighbors or anony
mous callers.
The officer then interviews the stu
dent to determine if charges are
valid. Following the interview, the
officer decides if the abused student
should be tak e n into protective
custody.
School police officers call the
Oregon Children’s Serv ices Division/
Child Protective Services(CSD/CPS)
to report abuse cases and arrange for
protective care.
If em ergency m edical care is
needed, school police officers trans
port the abused students to hospitals
or clinics before delivering them to
the shelter-care homes.
Portland School Police officers
receive ongoing training in handling
child-abuse and sexual-abuse cases.
Officers recently joined other state
and local police officers and C SD
personnel from three states in a
conference sponsored by the federal
governm ent concerning the sexual
exploitation and abuse of children.
GANGS__________
The impact of youth-gang violence
is staggering.
Police estimate nearly 20 m onthly
incidents of gang-related crimes and
violence on Portland streets.
Though those figures do not repre
sent an “epidem ic” of gang activity,
they do call for immediate preventa
tive actions by the Portland School
D is tric t a n d o th e r c o m m u n ity
agencies.
Portland Public Schools has joined
efforts to counter gang activities in
and around schools. C onstant m oni
toring of suspected gang members
and gang activities by school law-_
enforcement officers combines with
new curriculum aimed at taking the
“glam our” out of youth gangs in
districtwide efforts to prevent out
breaks of violence.
School police gather and share
inform ation on youth gangs with
school principals and staff members
as well as other law-enforcement
agencies on the West Coast. A tten
dance at regional and international
conferences on gang activities keeps
school police officers up to date on
gang m ovem ents and prevention
methods.
Students at all grade levels — with
particular emphasis in elementary
schools — in regular counseling-
and-guidance program s learn the
impacts of illegal activities on them
selves and their families.
Students in Grades 4, 5 and 7 are
learning to choose positive alterna
tives to gang m em bership in newly
developed coursework that ties to
existing activities emphasizing con
fidence-building, personal aw areness,
problem-solving and peer pressure.
P o rtla n d P ublic Schools staff
members are studying gangs and
m aintaining ongoing cooperation
with the Northeast Com m unity Task-
Force on Youth Gangs.
The school district also is devel
oping prevention activities to help
stop the recruitm ent of youths into
gangs and provides inform ation and
training to principals and counselors
in high schools and middle schools.
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