National Public Radio
A few dozen public high schools nationwide are trying to educate teens who have hard core drug addictions – which means keeping them sober. One of them, Recovery High, just outside Boston, is welcoming students for a second year. Administrators say that until their students are separated from drug-using peers and old patterns, they have little chance of staying clean and completing school. Youths receive group therapy, are tested for drugs regularly and must agree to end associations with friends who are using drugs or alcohol.
Recovery High administrators estimate that their students have a 50 percent chance of staying drug-free, but say their odds would be far lower in their old environments. Keeping the school funded is a hard sell, notes Principal Michelle Lipinski, because it’s competing for funds with programs for other special populations, such as gifted students and disabled students. Sept. 12, http://www.npr.org.
