In Garden City, 87.7 percent of seniors drank beer - the alcohol of choice - within the past year. Eleventh and 12th graders admitted beer is "very easy" to get and is most often consumed at the "home of a friend."

Cocaine use doubled between 2002 and 2006. Its use in Garden City is reported as early as sixth grade. Of seniors, 12 percent admitted they used the drug within the past year, a percentage significantly higher than the national average of 7.9 percent.

Marijuana use begins in ninth grade in Garden City with a significant increase between ninth and 10th grades - 5.6 percent to 22.2 percent. Further, use rates in Grades 11 and 12 (51.8 percent) are higher than the national average (32 percent). And again, 11th and 12th graders admitted the drug is "very easy" to get and is most often used at a friend's house.

Nine seniors admitted using heroin during the past year too.

These statistics are the result of a survey performed by the Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education (PRIDE). More than 2,000 students and 800 parents in Grades 6-12 were questioned to learn the extent and nature of drug and alcohol use and violence in the Garden City school community. This survey followed up the first ever taken in 2002.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen told parents the results were meant to inform and inspire dialogue not shock those who attended the public meeting Feb. 28. "It's important you know what the children are saying," he said. "In some communities, a survey of this type would never see the light of day ... We know there are no magic answers but we also know these things work when a community comes together."

Cynthia Knowles, who presented the results of the first PRIDE survey in March 2003, is a nationally recognized expert in substance abuse prevention, involved in the field for more than 20 years.

"There are good pieces of news that came out of the data," Knowles said. Protective factors increased since 2002 (24.3 to 40.1 percent), a remarkable change, Knowles notes. "Parents have been mobilized. You've responded and you've responded very well," she said. Protective factors can reduce the risk of using/abusing drugs. The more protective factors in a child's life, the less likely he/she would use/abuse alcohol and other drugs.

However, even though 11th and 12th graders are smoking less there is still "way too much" drinking still going on in Garden City, Knowles said, and parents of juniors and seniors don't realize how much their children are drinking. "It was too much four years ago," she said, referring to the 2002 statistics (88.1 percent). Not much change since 2002. Although usage did go down, it only dropped .4 percent and police had a good idea of where much of the consumption was taking place.

Students, in a wooded area behind Stewart School, actually built what's been described as a fort-like structure. In pictures shared with the public at last week's meeting, funnels and drug paraphernalia were strewn on the grass and after surveying the area from the air police last spring bulldozed the structure.

Knowles discovered 39 percent of students think the police will not bother them while drinking alcohol. Knowles noted that this type of behavior in town is essentially supporting the use of alcohol. When parents were asked whether or not they thought the local police were/are doing a good job, the numbers revealed to Knowles that residents are not supporting Garden City police in the fight.

Lori Kuster, a social worker at Garden City High School who moderated the question and answer period with a panel of distinguished guests, said of the fight: "We can't do it in isolation."

The Voluntary Consent to Enter A Private Residence Youth Complaint program, offered by the Garden City Police Department, enables parents to give officers written consent to enter their residence and (1) escort any unauthorized persons from the premises, (2) confiscate any alcoholic beverages in plain view that are being consumed by said unauthorized persons and (3) confiscate any contraband, such as drugs or firearms, observed in plain view, pending further investigation.

Parents interested in learning more about these consent forms can call 742-9600 and make an appointment with Youth Officer Rich Pedone.

The Garden City Community Council on Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention, Inc., which went into effect immediately following the March 2003 meeting, is one of several steps the district has taken to begin coordinating school-community prevention efforts. Since its inception, the Council has established an outgrowth of the PRIDE survey to encourage and support both school- and community-based initiatives that will provide healthy lifestyles and a substance-free and violence-free environment for the whole community.

Further, in June 2006 it implemented the first pre-prom social dubbed "Promapalooza" to prevent alcohol/drug consumption before the prom, in which approximately 600 people attended; created a parent to parent directory for parent networking in Grades 6-12; holds three meetings per year with community organizations regarding prevention work and hosts two to three parent seminars per year regarding drug and alcohol/violence prevention for youth themes.

The district purchased K-12 drug, alcohol and violence prevention curriculum and upgraded its security system on all school building doors to prevent unauthorized persons from entering. All employees, too, were provided with identification badges/keys to allow entry. At the high school, the prom contract requires parent and student signatures and drug/alcohol policy and disciplinary procedures have been updated.

Garden City Middle School offers a SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Club, an anti-bullying program, recreation nights and assembly programs on positive decision making.

The PRIDE questionnaire has undergone 10 years of development and provides valid and reliable data for monitoring adolescent drug and alcohol use. See PRIDE survey results at www.gardencity.k12.ny.us.

The following reasons as to why kids use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs come from a Garden City Community Council on Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention parent guide: the influence of peer acceptance, the need to escape anxiety, the desire to feel good, to relax or to seek excitement, to satisfy curiosity or to reduce boredom. These drugs are also often used as relief from an intolerable situation or as a means of masking low self-esteem and/or depression.

Garden City Community Council on Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention, Inc. members include the mayor and village board of trustees, the Inc. Village of Garden City and the Garden City Police Department, all four property owners' associations, numerous houses of worship, including Garden City Community Church, St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, the Garden City Jewish Center, the Cathedral of the Incarnation, the Presbyterian Church of Garden City, Christ Episcopal Church and Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, community organizations like Garden City Kiwanis, Rotary and Chamber, the Men's Club and Garden City PTA and SEPTA.

Winthrop-University Hospital is also a member as well as Adelphi University, St. Anne's School and St. Joseph's School, all Garden City Public Schools, the Kenneth Peters Center for Recovery and the LI Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.