Queen Anne's County High School was joined this Fall by Mr. Evans, the school’s new Prevention Coordinator. Mr. Evans is here as part of the three-year federal grant the QAC school system received to reduce alcohol abuse among youth with a particular emphasis on the growing pattern of binge drinking.
Queen Anne's County Alliance to Reduce Alcohol Abuse Grant
The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education - Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and will provide funding for three years. QACPS is one of 76 organizations awarded this grant from approximately 400 organizations which applied nationwide. The three goals of the program are to create a measurable decrease in binge drinking, increase the percentage of targeted students who believe that alcohol abuse is harmful to health, and increase the number of students who disapprove of alcohol abuse.
“Few of our county parents and community members realize how high our county’s youth binge drinking rate is. According to the 2007 Maryland Adolescent Survey results, at the state and national level, youth alcohol use is down, but among our county teens our rates today are 35% higher than five years ago.” “These rates are of great concern because of the serious consequences of binge drinking for adolescents. Research has shown us that binge drinking leads to multiple problems for this age group including impaired brain development, slowed motor skills, and difficulty learning new ideas/concepts. It also leads to impairment in their decision-making abilities, with risky, often dangerous behaviors such as unwanted or unsafe sexual activity, drunk driving, violence, or illegal drug use as a result. For the student athlete, studies have shown that it weakens athletic performance even days after the alcohol was consumed. It also contributes to high blood pressure and obesity as early as the early 20’s, contributes to alcoholism as adults, and of course if you’re caught drinking as a minor, there are the legal repercussions.”