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“The typical Americanteenager will see 100,000

beer commercials before the age of18, more than for sneakers, gumand jeans combined.” This wasEllen Peterson’s last soberingthought, as featured in a recent edi-tion of her newsletter. The Decem-ber 1st issue was labeled #314. Forthe past twelve years Peterson, aDVC Psychology teacher, has senta bi-weekly letter to more than athousand addresses (both virtual

and hard mail), about alcohol anddrug use in the Acalanes SchoolDistrict.

Peterson was teaching a“Peer Counseling” class atAcalanes High School in thenineties. She observed first-handthe surge in drug and alcohol use.When the media came on campusto report on the rising rate of sub-stance abuse in suburbia, the dis-trict reacted and Petersonorganized a large community con-

sultation on the issue that attracted115 people, including all the highschool principals, the police de-partments, a judge, parents, educa-tors, and even the FBI. The threemeetings that ensued gave birth totask forces and Peterson’s newslet-ter. “Parents were unaware of whatwas going on,” said Peterson, “oneof their demands was to get an ac-curate picture of substance abuseon the campuses.”

The newsletter covers anyand every possible substance abuseissue in the District and talks aboutnational trends as well. Each issuehas a theme: medicine abuse, newalcoholic products, parents’ re-sponsibilities, proms, gender spe-cific issues, media impactsincluding films, music, advertise-ment and the internet. Anyone canjoin Peterson’s mailing list bysending her a message at ellen-peterson@comcast.net. Thenewsletter can also be found on theAcalanes Union High School Dis-trict (AUHSD) web site:www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/parents/and on high schools web sites.

AUHSD Superintendent JimNegri first met Peterson as she wasbusy copying her newsletter on thedistrict’s copy machine. “Ellen isone of those dedicated volunteerswho keep working on issues they

really care about,” says Negri. Inrecognition of her work, the districtawarded Peterson the Su StaufferFriends of Education MemorialAward in 2006. “We are gratefulfor what she does and are happy toprovide support in every little waywe can,” adds Negri.

The number of people reg-istering to receive the newsletterhas increased over time. Petersonbelieves this is because parentshave stopped looking the otherway. “I have seen a shift in par-ents’ tolerance for alcohol con-sumption over the years,” saysPeterson, “one of the reasons maybe the discovery of what alcoholdoes to teens’ brains.”

Drinking affects the pre-frontal cortex that controls im-pulses and inhibitions. That partof the brain is the latest to develop,well into adulthood. “The mainconcern with alcohol is that itmakes kids do things they later re-gret,” explains Peterson, “alcoholabuse is linked to unprotected sex,fights, vandalism, pregnancy, notto even mention the terrible dangerof drunk driving. One in fourteenagers drinking before the ageof 15 will have an alcohol prob-lem,” she warns.

Alcohol is not the only sub-stance our teens are abusing. Mar-ijuana has held a favorite place foryears. According to Peterson, itsuse has remained stable over thepast twelve years in our district.“It’s at all the parties,” she says,“especially if there is no parentalpresence.” Marijuana is the morecommon problem reported by localsubstance abuse treatment centers.Marijuana addicts just “zone out”and lose their motivation to do any-thing other than consume theirdrug. According to Peterson, 50%of the students in the Acalanesschool district will have tried mar-

ijuana by the time they graduate,and 15%- 20% are regular users.

If marijuana’s consumptionhas not changed, other substanceshave appeared in the students’palette of choice for mischief. Opi-ates, pain relievers such as Vicodin,Percocet and Oxycontin, andstress-relieving drugs such as Val-ium find their way from medicinecabinets to teen pockets. Steroiduse is on the rise among girls want-ing to lose weight as well as boys.Ecstasy’s use subsided after a surgeat the beginning of the 21st century,

but Peterson fears that the use ofbreathalyzers at parties might havethe adverse effect of increasing ec-stasy or marijuana intake beforeparties.

As habits and teen trendschange all the time, parents leftwith an overload of informationcan feel overwhelmed. “Alcohol isa rite of passage in our civilization,as a culture we celebrate every-thing with alcohol,” acknowledgesPeterson, “if parents want to pro-tect their children from abuse theyneed to start by modeling sobriety.”

Anumber of Acalanes sophomores spent a recentSaturday working in Castle Rock Recreation

Area. If you haven’t been there, Castle Rock is part ofthe East Bay Regional Park District. It’s located in Wal-nut Creek adjacent to Diablo Foothills and is undergo-ing a major renovation.

Some of the students’ labors included plantingtrees and shrubs, watering and digging a large drainageditch. The workday was organized by Sophomore Stu-

dent Body Association (SBA) President Lindsay Copeand SBA Secretary Hayley Windther. Every Acalanesstudent has an annual mandatory number of volunteerhours to fulfill and the hours increase at each grade level(sophomores have 12 hours). Cope said “At least 50%of the hours have to be outside of the school.” Therewas a lot hard work and camaraderie at the job site andit paid off. At the end of their workday, they’d made no-table and positive changes at Castle Rock.

visit us online: www.lamorindaweekly.com Page: 9 LAMORINDA WEEKLYWednesday, December 26, 2007

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Acalanes Sophomores Improve Castle Rock ParkBy Jean Follmer

Acalanes sophomores work hard at Castle Rock Recreation Area Photo Jean Follmer

Ellen Peterson: Sobering Thoughts to Keep Parents on Their ToesBy Sophie Braccini

Ellen Peterson Photo Sophie Braccini

Young Children Learn Holiday Kindness

From the Fire Station: Captian Bob Heaston, Fire Fighter Rob Panucci, Engineer Mark WatsonKids on the couch L-R: Max Rittmann, Adam Harper, Connor Fritch, Xavier Esquer, Lleyton Allen,Joe Gonzales, and George Destino (front edge of the chair)

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In lieu of a gift foreach boy, guests were askedto bring a gift for one of theboys, and a second gift forcharity.

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