Advance Robbinsville
JUNE 2019
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To protect, not punish School district says new drug testing policy meant to help students By KeVin KUnZMann
The intent is not to condemn or punish a wrongdoer, but to find and help the individual in need. At least, that’s how the Robbinsville Public School District Board of Education has pitched its drug testing policy that would adopt contracted, randomized testing of up to 10% of the districts’ athletes, club members and other qualified students at any given time. The school board was expected to formally approve the initiative at its May 28 meeting, which took place after this edition went to press. Superintendent Kathie Foster said the decision to propose a randomized drug testing policy was spurred by the results of a
2018 National Institutes on Drug Abuse survey which showed that, among 12th graders, vaping use was reported by 37.3% of students, nicotine use by 29.7% and marijuana/hash oil by 13.1%. The survey of 44,000-plus students also showed that monthly marijuana use is now more frequent among 12th graders than monthly cigarette use, and that vaping use has increased in students from grade eight through 12. The proposed testing policy would include a pool of students who participate in a “privilege,” meaning members of athletic teams, extracurricular clubs, students who have permits to park on school grounds—as well as those who voluntarily sign up for the testing. Prohibited substances would include alcohol/ethanol, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana/THC, opiates, PCP, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, propoxyphene, oxycodone and methaqualone. The district would intend to review
the list annually. Outside contractors will conduct all the school district’s tests, and will pull students at random from a confidential database. Any students who test positive for an illegal drug or alcohol will be tested once more, and their parents will be notified by a medical review officer. Any refusal to participate in randomized testing will count as a positive result. Though they will not lose access to extracurricular privileges on first offense, students will be required to complete five counseling sessions with a Student Assistance Coordinate, and provide at least three more subsequent random drug tests. Additional test failures could result in privilege suspensions, increased counseling sessions and subsequent tests, barring from events including senior trip, prom and graduation, and eventual referral to the Child Study Team for assessment. See TESTING, Page 11
Honoring the Class of 2019’s best Introducing the Robbinsville High School’s Exceptional Seniors By roB anthes
ranthes@communitynews.org
CJ Inverso and Joey Porchetta show off their cool socks during the pre-prom red carpet at Robbinsville High School May 18, 2019. Prom was held at The Marion in Cinnaminson. For more photos from the red carpet, turn to Page 12. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
The end of the school year is here. The Robbinsville High School Class of 2019 is set to graduate 6 p.m. on Friday, June 21 at the school’s athletic field. Among those graduates are
this year’s Exceptional Seniors, a group of 10 students chosen by the school administration. These students represent the best of the Class of 2019, and are en route to top-flight institutions like George Washington, University of Virginia and the University of Michigan. The 10 students—Amanda Allen, Priyanka Bhatnagar, Anushka Biswas, ToniJosephine Escuadro, Bhargavi Lanka, Sanjana Madhu, Harsh Padhye, Likhitha Patlolla, Manu Sankaran and Morgan Serra—have made their mark
at RHS in a wide range of clubs, sports and community service activities. They hope to go on to careers in the law, engineering, medicine, computer science and actuarial fields. The seniors took a moment out of their busy schedules to answer a few questions about their time in Robbinsville schools, who has inpsired them and what they envision for their futures. For more on the 2019 Robbinsville High School Exceptional Seniors—including their biographies and photos— turn to Page 14.
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