The gymnasium was filled with applause for Ken Facin, Superintendent of HFCS District, as he said, “Underage drinking parties will not be tolerated. Both parents and youth will be held accountable. Our goal is to raise our children in a safe and caring community to enable them to be the best they can be.”
Thus began the evening of the Mandatory Code of Conduct Meeting that requires both parents and their children to sign a code of conduct to participate in extracurricular activities at the school.
Important changes included:
1. This is now a school year-round code. If a youth drinks in February and plays ball in the spring, he will miss 30% of the season on the field.
2. All youth involved in clubs and organizations now fall within the code – not just athletics.
3. Five counseling sessions will be required for a youth after his/her first offense, two of which with a parent present.
4. If a youth attends a party where drugs and/or alcohol are present, they are required to leave immediately and inform their advisor or coach or administrator that they were there and left immediately.
5. Social networking – pictures, etc. of a youth violating the code of conduct on websites will be held as proof of a violation of the code and the youth will be held accountable. Facin suggested that all pictures be removed from websites before the first day of school.
Thunderous applause by both students and parents followed Facin’s talk, indicating their full support for the new and much stricter code of conduct.
Guest Speaker John Underwood, President of the American Athletic Association, Olympic Coach and scientist and international expert on codes of conduct, praised the HFCS Code of Conduct and how it has changed in the past five years since his first visit at the first mandatory code meeting. He presented scientific information on how alcohol and marijuana effect the teenage brain. His advice to the students was, “Dream, then go make it happen. The biggest reason for failure in life or in sport, is giving up what you want the most, for what you want at the moment.”
“HAPPY, The Hoosick Area Partnership for Parents and Youth, has sponsored Underwood’s presence every year since the first mandatory code night as his pictures of brains of children cannot help but to affect every parent and youth present,” stated Joyce Davis, Director. This is a very important part of our effort to change the community norm to not tolerate underage alcohol and drug abuse in Hoosick. Our youth and adult surveys show that we are making significant progress.