Speak Out for Alternative Education

Here's what I said on the capital steps, 12:15 Saturday.

Hi, I am Jan Fulwiler, I am a psychologist, and I strongly support alternative education.
I am here to speak our to Horizon High School, Dane County's Only Recovery School

Imagine you are 16 years old, you have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder, you go to 3 weeks of treatment. It is your first day back at your school. All your friends that you used to use with are very glad to see you are back, and welcome you back by offering alcohol and other drugs to you at school. What do you do?

If you don't think this scene is happening everyday in our schools in Dane County you are sadly mistaken. Hazelton did a survey of recoverying teens and found that 97% were offered alcohol and other drugs at school, their very first day back from treatment. No wonder relapse is seen as a normal part of adolescent recovery.

"Sending a teen back to their original high school is like sending an adult alcoholic back to their favorite bar for six ours a day and expecting them to sta sober.

substance abuse disorders are chronic progressive diseases that need continuing care. Like diabetes, you don't just treat it for 3 weeks and expect it to go away. Without aftercare, of course, teens will relapse it is like denying insulin to a diabetic.

I know this from personal experience because I used to work for a wilderness therapy program and treatment boarding schools. We knew if a teen had to return to their original high school they would relapse. It was only a question of time.

Dane County needs to step up tp the plate and take responsibility for helping teens with substance abuses disorders. We have an especiallly poor record. Nationally only 10% of all teens swith this disorder get treatment, in Dane County only 1.5%. And everytime another child dies of an overdose, I think of that Bob Dylan song, blowin in the wind.

"How many deaths will it take till they know that too many people have died?"

This seems so seneless because their is an answer- Recovery Schools.

What are they? Separate learning communities that provide peer support for sobriety, experientia education, counseling and accoutability, randome drug testing to support the teens in their sobriety.

Research shows that these schools work. Relapse rates are much lower and attendence and graduation much higher for students who attend these schools. Many of our students say they never would have completed high school without Horizon. Their parents say these students might not even be still alive.

Horizon was started 5 years ago by parents and treatment professional who were tired of losing kids to overdoses and took action and created a resource that works. In the five years we have been in existence we have helped over 40 families with teens with substance abuse disorders.

Horizon is a the only private, non-profit recovery school in the Midwest. Minnesota has 12 such schools all state supported. Why are we private because 5 years ago it would have been impossible for us to get a charter school in Madison, Wisconsin, and even today we can't find a school district in Dane County that will sponsor a charter school application.

Horizon supporters didn't want to argue, they wanted to save lives, and we have done more than that, we help teens succeed in sobriety, school and life.

Want to know more? Want to help? Know someone who needs our school? Check out our website at www.horizonhs.org or our face book page, Horizon High, Dane County's Only Recovery School, join our cause.