JCA Touts Drug Policy Success

So far, so good.

Joliet Catholic Academy is the only high school in Will, Grundy, Kendall and DuPage counties with a mandatory drug testing policy. And according to Kevin Las, JCA’s longtime Dean of Students, the benefits to students and families since the program was implemented in 2008 can be found in the success rate.

This year, all students at JCA have been tested at least once, with a success rate of 99.996 percent. In the three and a half years of testing, covering a total of 3,532 students, the success rate stands at 99.993 percent.

“We are totally pleased with how this has worked,” Las said. “We have received the acceptance and support of our students and parents from the very beginning, and that has made a huge impact on us.

“We do this to give kids an option and a reason to say no to temptation. Research tells us, and we have many examples on hand, that relying on a ‘Just Say No’ approach is just not enough of a deterrent.”

All students at JCA are randomly selected and tested for drug use at least once a year. After a student is tested, his or her name is returned to the collective pool for further, future selections. After the entire student body has been tested, 25 percent will be randomly selected to be tested a second time.

The test involves using a small sample of hair, 1.5 inches long and about the width of the tip of a shoelace. If a student tests positive, the family is contacted to address the following issues:

• Explanation of results, including type of drug, level of use and window of time of use.
• Counseling options to assess level of intervention if counseling is appropriate.
• Retesting at the student’s expense, required 100 days after a positive test result.
• Consequences of a second positive test, which may result in dismissal.

“Our policy is not only a drug testing policy, it mandates drug treatment,” Las said. “We’re not trying to hurt students or families, we’re trying to help them, and our parental support has been outstanding.”

JCA is currently administering the 25 percent random drug tests. The policy has received widespread support at the co-educational college preparatory high school from faculty, staff and families.

“For our parents and for our teachers, it’s one less thing they have to worry about in this day and age,” Las said. “As an administration, we understand the temptations and we wanted to be proactive about it.

“To this day, after we send out congratulatory, drug-free e-mails to parents after a round of testing, I’ll inevitably get a few back thanking us and expressing support for what we do. I think that says a lot.”