Thirty schools from 21 states were honored at a White House ceremony last week for their efforts to prevent drug abuse among students.
“You’ve all realized something very important,’' First Lady Nancy Reagan told representatives of the winning schools, “and it’s this: Somewhere we must begin to say ‘no’ to drugs, and that place is in the schools among our young people.’'
In addition to Ms. Reagan, who has led a national campaign to combat drug use, the May 16 ceremony featured Secretary of Education William J. Bennett.
The schools--13 high schools, 7 junior high schools, 3 middle schools, 4 elementary schools, and 3 private schools--were selected as part of Mr. Bennett’s “drug-free school recognition program.’'
Education Department officials said the schools were chosen for their clear “no drugs’’ policies, success in assessing the extent of drug use among their students, anti-drug instruction, and involvement of students, parents, and the surrounding community in anti-drug efforts.
The winning schools--chosen from a field of 238 nominees--include:
Mountain Brook Jr. High School, Birmingham, Ala.; Flowing Wells High School, Tucson, Ariz.; Commodore Stockton Skills School, Stockton, Calif.; Saint Joseph School, Redding, Calif.; Palmetto Junior High School, Miami; Crabapple Middle School, Roswell, Ga.; Belleville Township High School (West) and Belleville Township High School (East), Belleville, Ill.; Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. High School, Wheeling, Ill.; New Trier Township High School, Winnetka, Ill.; Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Ky., and Larose-Cut Off Jr. High School, Larose, La.
And Southfield High School, Southfield, Mich.; Adrian High School, Adrian, Mich.; Minnetonka High School, Minnetonka, Minn.; Fort Lee High School, Fort Lee, N.J.; St. Edward Confessor, Syosset, N.Y.; Fargo South High School, Fargo, N.D.; Shore Junior High, Mentor, Ohio; Jones Middle School, Upper Arlington, Ohio; St. Charles School, Lima, Ohio; Kelley Elementary School, Moore, Okla.; Tiogue Elementary School, Coventry, R.I.; Spring Valley High School, Columbia, S.C.; Pleasanton Elementary School, Pleasanton, Tex.; Northwest Intermediate School, Salt Lake City; John Handley High School, Winchester, Va.; Newsome Park Middle School, Newport News, Va.; and Natrona County High School and Dean Morgan Jr. High School of Casper, Wyo.
