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March 29, 2006

Is our school and community safe from drugs and alcohol or gang related issues?

Walnut High School Parent Corps had a very informative meeting last Thursday, Feb. 16, about drugs and gangs. Thank you for your participation and support.

Here is a summary of the meeting , included
• A message from the principal
• Sergeant Eddie Leung's presentation
• Officer Chris Kuk's presentation
• Ms. Jane Van Wagoner's Advice
• Information of the WHS Parent Corps' State Partners

continue reading Is our school and community safe from drugs and alcohol or gang related issues?

Walnut High School Parent Corps Meeting
(Thursday, Feb.16, 2006)

• Misun Kim, WHS Parent Corps Parent leader welcomed parents and speakers, and introduced Parent Corps as a drug prevention movement for WHS’ parents.
Parents watched a DVD, “The Case of the Parent Corps” which explained what is Parent Corps, and what parents can do to help their children stay healthy and drug free. You can also watch it at www.parentcorps.org.

• Mr. Russell Lee-Sung, Walnut High School’s principal, gave a message to the parents. He said that he is proud of having Parent Corps, not because Walnut High School has a serious problem with drugs, but because it is a great resource that allows our community and parents to work together to raise our children in a healthier and safer environment. He also shared his personal experience with his own son about curfews. He said, “When you are out late, it’s not that I do not trust you, but lots of troubles like gang members and accidents will find you. Because I care about you, I want you to understand my rule.”

He also said that it is very valuable for Parent Corps to help parents start thinking and having conversation with each other to share parenting successes. Parent involvement makes [school administrators’] job much easier in raising our school kids.

He mentioned that we are approaching a very dangerous time of the school year with prom and graduation. Especially for the juniors and seniors, we have to think about our actions to help keep them safe. We must continuously remind them to make good decisions and the consequences that can result from making bad decisions.

“No alcohol, no drugs! A little reminder from parents can go a long way.”

Even though we have a great community, problems are coming out of children’s lives, like the internet and chatting with strangers. Please have a conversation with your teens about it.

Always try to work on the relationship with your teens so that when they get older or go to the college, they can make good decisions based on the example that you set.

*Note* Parents can place their e-mail address on the principle’s list so that they can receive school information regularly.

• Sergeant Eddie Leung, Narcotics Bureau from Walnut Sheriff Dept. He stressed that the “Home” must be the base camp to start prevention. He encouraged the parents to keep getting involved with their children’s school and lives.

He showed a video,” Meth” (methamphetamine). It has other names like Speed, Zip, Crank, Tina, chalk, Quartz, and Go-fast. The video illustrated the physical symptoms on the damages to the brain and teeth, and other effects when people use this drug. He told us that drugs are no longer just an urban problem, and everyone is at risk.

He also presented on identification of the drugs and incidents around our Walnut community. On the day of the meeting, in the luxury gated community near the 60
Freeway, he busted a house and found the people selling drugs at home.

This past Monday, he also arrested a 25 year-old man who was growing marijuana inside his house in San Dimas. He said that people know that it is illegal, but people continue to do this because it is easy money.

He said that nowadays, high school students more likely to use marijuana or ecstasy than other drugs. These drugs are 7-10 times stronger than the drugs of the 60’s and 70’s. He strongly suggested that parents monitor and investigate teenagers’ room to see if there are any suspicious activities.

If you have any questions or concern, please do not hesitate to contact Sgt. Eddie at (909)595-2264. His e-mail address is ecleung@lasd.org .

• Q/A Session
Parent’s Question 1: Teens are having a kind of attitude problem, how do you know and check their attitude is changing?

Answer 1: Watch and observe your child carefully to see if behaviors are beyond normal teenager responses, or it is against your teen’s personality.

Parents’ Question 2: How do parents monitor or investigate their children’s room without breaking the trust?

Answer 2: Talk with your child first and explain why an investigation is needed and state your suspicions. (See detailed answer with Jane Van Wagoner’s response)

Parents’ Question 3: Sometimes my kid is involved at the night time activity with his friends. Is it safe to go to the Internet Café at night?

Answer 3: No it is not safe because those usually are gang hang out places. If your child is a minor he/she should not be out late.

Parents’ Question 4: My 18 year-old son is dating with the older, single mother girl. He might be exposed to the alcohol, or other smoking related things. What can I do with him?

Answer 4: Because he is 18 years old, parents have no legal authority over his behavior. The best thing to do is to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

• Officer Chris Kuk, Los Angeles Probations Dept., gave his presentation about “Gangs in our Community”. He started with the definition of a “gang,” which is a gathering of people. A youth gang is a group of people who get together on a regular basis to carry out violent, illegal, or anti-social activities. He covered different information such as, what youth gangs are, the number systems of Asian Gangs, gang graffiti, hand signs, why young people join gangs, why we should be concerned, and what can parents do.

Each Asian gang has a name, like Asian Boyz, Wah Ching, and they shared for of identification such as clothing, hand signs, alphabets and other graffiti.
He also showed us pictures of the crime scenes, drug paraphernalia from the gang activities. Asian gangs do not have turfs and can be found anywhere.

Gangs give youth an identity, a sense of power, and a feeling that they belong to
a family. But they may not know how much their future can be affected by missing school, abusing drugs and having a criminal record. Gangs also are involved in using and selling drugs and can be identified by having drug paraphernalia.

Gangs are no longer an urban problem like substance abuse is everywhere. Every one is at risk. Please communicate with your kids. Know your kids’ friends, and check out where they go, and what they do.

Officer Kuk encouraged parents to join a parent support group like Parent Corps and share information on gang and drug abuse prevention.

Officer Chris Kuk’s number is (626)575-4067

• Q/A session
Parent’s Question: My kids seems to be hanging around with gang-to-be kids. Can police officer, or school administrator verify that certain kids are the gang members or not?

Answer: School administrators will not identify gang or “wannabes” or gang-to-be-kids but will suggest counseling for the teen and the teen’s friend. However, parents are encouraged to report or talk with police officers to receive suggestions on what to do when teenagers seem to be gang affiliated or gang wannabes.

• Susan Yuk, WHS’ Parent Corps Assistant parent Leader and
Susan Fan, Suzanne Middle School’s Parent Leader showed parents an inventory of drug paraphernalia (t-shirts, stuffed animals, magazines, games) found at teen stores such as Spencer’s and the mall that parents should be aware of around our community.

• Other Outside Resources (State Partners of the Parent Corp)

Vicky Kwan, MSSA
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
340 E. Second St. Suite 409 Los Angeles, CA 90012-4249
P(213) 625-5795/F(213) 625-5796
www.napafasa.org

Dr. Rocco Chen, Project Director(APFC)
Asian Pacific Family Center
18623 E. Gale Ave.
City of Industry, CA 91748
P(626)839-0300x26/F(626)839-1780
rcheng@pacificclinics.org

Guest:
Jane Van Wagoner
M.A., M.F.T.
Adolescent, Individual, Group, Family Therapy

• Parent’s appreciation and concerns about the next Parent Corps meeting
• Julie Martinez, WHS Parent Corps Assistant Parent Leader raffled certificates and other gifts.

“If we are to win the battle against drugs and the marketing of such things to the youth in our community, we need to show unity for them to make the right choices.
Teens need proper guidance and support from people they trust.
Parents, grandparents, or caregivers, we are the one who can provide these things to our teens with love.” - Misun Kim, Parent Leader

Posted by Mi Sun Kim at 6:03 PM | Comments (1059)

March 2, 2006

How do you investigate your teen without breaking the trust?

How do you investigate your teen without breaking the trust?
asked by a WHS parent at the Parent Corps meeting
answered by Ms. Jane Van Wagoner

First you must truly feel that your teen is in trouble. This might be a gut feeling or actual proof.

It is most important to have consistently modeled for your teen that they can trust you and talk to you. Dr. William Glasser, M.D., in his book Unhappy Teenagers – A way for parents and teachers to reach them—states, “If your teen can talk freely with you and believe you are not judging him or trying to control him, he will be more likely to listen to your advice and there is less chance that he will become addicted.” (to drugs or/and alcohol).

You want to develop a strong trusting relationship with your teen. Let them know you trust them unless there is something that happens that may cause you to be suspicious. Have this talk with your teen before a problem arises. Set the rules as to what your expectations are. An example of a conversation between you and your teen might be; “I will not invade your room unless I become concerned that you might be using drugs or abusing alcohol. If that happens I will sit down with you and talk to you. I have the right after we have talked to search your room.” Never search your child’s room without letting them know in advance and letting them be aware that there will be consequences for inappropriate behavior. As a parent, don’t give up your power. It is your house and you are the person in charge. Always be fair, firm and consistent with your child/teen. Keep an open dialogue with them. Talk daily about things that matter and let them know your feelings and expectations.

Three books I would recommend reading are:

1. Boundaries with Teens—When To Say Yes, How to Say No—Dr. John Townsend

2. A Survival Guide to the adolescent brain for you and your teen—Why Do They Act That Way? David Walsh, PHD

3. Unhappy Teenagers—A way for parents and teachers to reach them—William Glasser, M.D.

If you have further questions, you can reach me at my office at 714-738-1733.

Ms. Jane Van Wagoner, who has created and advised a Peer Counseling program for 16 years at Walnut High School, is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been in private practice at Fullerton since 1986.
She gives these words of advice.

Posted by Mi Sun Kim at 6:18 PM | Comments (5460)