How Bad is the Drug Problem in Concho Valley Schools?

The Concho Valley Community Action and Resources for Empowerment and Success Coalition encourages the elimination of substance abuse in the region.

The coalition gathers local data on substance use of youths living in San Angelo with their "Core Measures" survey that is taken annually. For the 2015 Core Measures Survey, 1235 7th, 9th, and 12th grade students across nine Concho Valley school districts were surveyed.

Drug abuse is prevalent in school districts across the nation. How are we doing locally?

In this region, Central High School had 47 discipline instances of controlled substances in 2015. That was less than 3% of the student body. The same year, Lake View High School had 25 instances of controlled substance use. That is also less than 3% of their student body. This information was sent to us through Jamie Highsmith, Public Information for San Angelo ISD.

“There is a good deal of research that links adolescent drug use to specific risk factors. While problems with family management and family conflict are considered to be risk factors for adolescent substance use, low family income is not considered to be a risk factor unless it is at a level of extreme poverty,” said Chelsea Ashton, Coordinator/Compliance Coordinator for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council for the Concho Valley (ADACCV pronounced "A-Dack").

Below shows the data from the Core Measures Survey from the last three years. 

“While we have seen an increase in marijuana use and a small increase in prescription drug misuse, we have seen an overall drop in the reported use of alcohol, tobacco, and synthetic drugs,” Ashton said.