[CCHS] Channel 5 report

[Art Dulong]

Good morning,

	I got a call this morning from a concerned parent who said she had heard
a news report on Channel 5 indicating that "18 kids at CCHS had been found
with guns" or something like that. Since I never heard it myself I am not
sure what they might have actually reported. I can unequivocally tell you
that nothing unusual has happened at CCHS. No one has been found to have a
gun, or any other weapon for that matter. There is no reason for you to be
any more concerned today about student safety than you were yesterday.

	My assumption is that someone from Channel 5 news saw the recent report
in the Concord Journal about the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). If so
they might have reported something technically accurate but so far out of
context to be a misrepresentation. Let me explain. Every two years the
YRBS is administered to a state-wide selection of schools, sponsored and
paid for by state health agencies, and also locally to a group of schools
including Concord, Acton-Boxborough, Littleton, Westford, Maynard, and
Groton. The local survey, which is essentially the same as the state-wide
survey, is sponsored and paid for by Emerson Hospital. The survey was
administered last March. The survey contains 113 questions covering a
variety of topics relating to behaviors that would be "risky". One of the
questions is "During the last 30 days on how many days did you carry a gun
on school property?" The response at CCHS  - and from every other school
in the local comparison group was that 1.6% of students reported to have a
gun at least one day within the past thirty, which would have been from
mid- February 06 through mid-March 06 . Is it true? I do not know. Is it
true at the other schools? I do not know that either. Is it possible that
students in uniform numbers across districts could be answering an
anonymous survey provocatively? Sure. Is it possible that when asked such
a question students were thinking about such things as paint ball guns, BB
guns, and other things that they might consider toys? Sure. That is why in
the most recent monthly newsletter I asked for your help and your child's
help. 

	On Monday and Tuesday of this week Kathy Bowen and I spoke with a total
of five classes about the YRBS results, including this question. Students
seemed unalarmed, offered some possible reasons, and did not seem
personally aware of anyone who might have done so. However, they did offer
that maybe if someone had a gun at school they would either not let anyone
know or only tell their best friend. My statements to them included my
strong belief that a weapon at school places every single person in the
building in danger. I strongly urged them to confide in an adult if they
ever heard or saw anything about a weapon. 

	You can count me among those who are concerned by student response to
this question. But I also know that we have had no incident that leads me
to believe that we are now, or ever have been, an unsafe school. I am not
predisposed to over react with things like metal detectors and guards at
every door. I am completely open to you and your children helping me to
better understand what is, in fact, the reality. That is what I asked in
the monthly newsletter and what I ask now.

	Thanks in advance for your understanding and whatever help or advice you
might offer.

Arthur Dulong
Principal, CCHS
(978) 341-2490 x7110