Ashland High School
Parent Resource Packet
2013-2014
Inside find information about:
ADVISORY
PROGRAM
& TCB TIME
STUDENT
HANDBOOK
HIGHLIGHTS
DRUG AND
ALCOHOL USE
PREVENTION
EARLY COLLEGE
CREDITS
Please direct any questions to our counselors:
Last names starting with A-K Mr. Steve Smith steve.smith@ashland.k12.or.us or
Last names starting with L-Z Ms. Amy Kennedy amy.kennedy@ashland.k12.or.us
Or contact
Ms. Zundel at michelle.zundel@ashland.k12.or.us
www.facebook.com/ahs.principal.zundel
AHS Administration proudly presents Parent
Academy. This series of informational workshops and
networking opportunities is designed to support
student success in high school and in life. Parenting
is a vital, complex, and humbling occupation.
Please mark your calendars to join us as we put the
pieces together for student success!
All events feature a panel of experts and a Q&A
session from 7:00-8:30PM in the AHS Library.
Monday, September 25 – Open House 6:00-8:30PM (meet in the large gym)
We want all families to attend Open House. Visit your student’s classes; meet
teachers and learn how to support your student’s academic achievement.
October 2 – HAZING, HARASSMENT AND BULLYING PREVENTION
Workshop provided by nationally recognized expert, Paul Coughlin from
Protectors.org
November 6 – INTERNET AND SCREEN ADDICTIONS
Technology is a powerful educational tool and has a dark side. How do we
identify, prevent, and treat internet and screen addictions?
December 4 – COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: Advice for all grade levels
Whether you are a parent of 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th graders, you will learn how to
support your student in this process.
January 8 – Personal Finance
Learn how to help your child develop good money habits and how to make
college affordable.
February 5 – Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents
Learn about the signs of anxiety and depression and successful treatments.
March 5 - Communication Strategies
Talk so teens will listen and listen so teens will talk. We’ll study effective
communication strategies.
April 2 – Drug and Alcohol Use Prevention
Historically, AHS students use marijuana and binge drink at rates higher than the
state average. We are changing this. A panel of local experts will share
information, respond to questions and facilitate parent discussions.
May 7 – Empty Nest Syndrome
We love our children, raise them to become independent, and then mourn their
leaving. Learn 133 Ways to Avoid Going Cuckoo When the Kids Fly the Nest from
the author of a book by that same name. We’ll provide the tissues.
Parent Resources
Drug and Alcohol Use Prevention Resources
abovetheinfluence.com
Ashland High School has a tradition of excellence for which we are proud. Our
students outperform their peers across the state on many academic measures.
They also report using marijuana and binge drinking at higher rates than the state
average. We want our students to be clean and sober. It’s important for the health
and safety of our youth and the fulfillment of each student’s potential.
Drug and alcohol abuse is a community problem and it requires a communitywide solution. Our youth
deserve nothing less. Here are some practical tips to reduce the likelihood that your son/ daughter will
use alcohol or drugs. Our goal is healthy, independent graduates who can pursue their next steps
after high school.
 MODELLING IS EVERYTHING
Students observe the choices that parents make and detect hypocrisy.
 SET LIMITS AND ENFORCE THEM
Set an alarm clock to wake you at curfew time. Follow through with consequences no matter how
exhausting it is.
 REINFORCE GOOD CHOICES
Most of our students are making good choice most of the time. Allow more independence and
privileges when students do the right thing and demonstrate good decisionmaking.
 START AN ONGOING CONVERSATION & LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN…
Silence cell phones, turn off screens and be available when your teen wants to talk. Listen more than
you talk. Support your teen in finding healthy ways to manage stress.
 SUPERVISION
Most alcohol and drug use occurs when school is not in session. Communicate with your teen. Check
in after school and know where they are. Require your teen to be your Facebook friend.
 KNOW HIS/HER FRIENDS
Insist on meeting friends and parents of friends. Create a fun, healthy home environment, free of
alcohol and drugs where teens want to hang out.
 SUPPORT INVOLVEMENT IN ATHLETICS, ACTIVITIES AND HOBBIES
It doesn’t matter what IT is as long as there is something he/she is interested in.
 NETWORK WITH OTHER PARENTS
We will publish a parent directory to facilitate this. Check and see if a parent is home when your
son/daughter goes to another house.
 LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS (Here are the sources for this document.)
Parents the Antidrug
http://www.theantidrug.com
Above the Influence
http://www.abovetheinfluence.com
National Institute of Health: http://health.nih.gov/topic/MarijuanaAbuse
http://health.nih.gov/topic/AlcoholandYouth/ChildTeenHealth
Partnership for a Drug Free America (Excellent parent toolkit.) http://www.drugfree.org
 LOOK FOR SIGNS OF ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
Significant changes in behavior and friends, quitting activities, problems in school, significant change
in personal appearance or hygiene, sneaking out at night.
 GET HELP IF YOU SUSPECT YOUR TEEN IS USING
Robin Stroh, AHS On Track Counselor
AHS School Based Health Center Staff
AHS Counseling and Administrative Staff
Search
drugfree.org
Drug and Alcohol Use Prevention Resources
Student Resources
The choice to be clean and sober is a matter of personal integrity. Here are some things to
consider when making your choices and encouraging friends to stay clean and sober.
“Anything that makes me less ‘me’ is not for me.”
Do alcohol and drugs help me to reach my goals? No. Consider this: “Doing alcohol and drugs
can lead to significant health, learning and mental health problems, which can ruin your future. It
impairs judgmen, which can lead to risky decisions when it comes to sex, reckless driving or doing
things that would normally seem stupid to you. Alcohol and drugs can affect your performance in school
and in sports. You may even get kicked off your team, lose your license, your parents’ trust and the
respect of peers.” (Above the Influence)
The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater your chance of becoming addicted to alcohol at some
point in your life. More than 4 0% of people who begin drinking before age 15 eventually become alcoholics.
Source: NIAAA; Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge, 2003
Marijuana use interferes with concentration, memory, and motor skills. It interferes with motivation, leads to
poorer school performance, and can cause users to disappoint the people most important to them.
Is marijuana really so bad for me? The answer is yes!


Marijuana is illegal.
Marijuana now exists in forms that are stronger with higher levels of THC, the psychoactive
ingredient than 30 years ago.

Studies show that someone who smokes five joints a week may be taking in as many cancercausing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.

Hanging around users of marijuana often means being exposed not only to other illegal drugs, but
also to a lifestyle that can include trouble in school, engaging in sexual activity while young, unintended
pregnancy, difficulties with the law, and other problems.

Marijuana use can slow down reaction time and distort perceptions. This can interfere with
athletic performance, decrease a sense of danger, and increase risk of injury.

Regular marijuana users can lose the ability to concentrate that is needed to master important
academic skills, and they can experience short-term memory loss. Habitual marijuana users tend to do
worse in school and are more likely to drop out altogether. Read more about the negative consequences of
marijuana on students.

Teens who rely on marijuana as a chemical crutch and refuse to face the challenges of growing up
never learn the emotional, psychological, and social lessons of adolescence.
Source: The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign's Behavior Change Expert Panel
Web
Web resources with incredible videos,
quizzes, facts, mythbusters and more.
http://checkyourself.com
http://www.abovetheinfluence.com
Concerned about your use or the use of a
friend or familiy member?
Girls and Boys Town National Hotline
Call 1-800-448-3000 (24/7)
The Girls and Boys Town National Hotline
is a 24-hour crisis, resource and referral line
staffed by highly-trained counselors who can
respond to your questions.
Early College Credits
Earn college credits while you’re in high school!
You can begin your college education in high school and graduate with credits on a
college transcript. There is no downside to this program. It saves you and your family time
and money. We recommend that students register for Rogue Community College and/or
Southern Oregon University credits when they take any eligible classes at Ashland High
School. These classes will simultaneously fulfill AHS graduation requirements. Please
review the AHS, RCC and SOU websites to see AHS classes that qualify for credits:
www.ashland.k12.or.us/sou
Rogue Community College (College Now)
http://www.roguecc.edu/CollegeNow
 Credits are free.

Credits transfer directly to Oregon universities.

Credits transfer as elective credits to most US colleges.

RCC does not award credit for grades below a B.
Southern Oregon University (Advanced Southern Credits)
http://www.sou.edu/youth/asc/index.html

Credits are offered at a significant discount.

There is wide acceptance of SOU credits nationwide.

SOU issues transcripts regardless of the grade earned in the class.
Advanced Placement (AP) Tests
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html

Students enrolled in AP classes take the AP exam in May.

The score earned on this exam may translate into college credit.

Note: We recommend that AP students register for RCC and SOU college credits
in addition to taking the AP exam.
SOU Early Entrance
http://www.sou.edu/youth/early_entry

Available to 11th and 12th graders.

Credits are offered at a significant discount.

Students can register for any undergraduate classes on a space available basis.

These classes do NOT count for AHS graduation requirements.

These classes generate an SOU transcript only.