WMA White Paper
A Recovery High School for the Triangle Area
What is a recovery high school?
A recovery high school is a secondary school designed specifically to provide a sober and recovery-supportive learning environment for students who are in active recovery from alcohol and substance use disorder and other addictions with corresponding behavioral health issues.
Unlike adults, a teen in recovery usually has one option: return to (or remain in) the environment in which they have bought, used, sold, and have friends that sell, use and buy drugs and alcohol – their home high school. Many students leaving inpatient or residential treatment are offered alcohol or other drugs by their friends on the first day they return to school (Holleran Steiker, 2015). This unique environment likely contributes to the much poorer prognosis teens with addiction face when compared to adults.
Adolescents (aged 12-17):
- In 2017, approximately 4% of the American adolescent population aged 12 to 17 suffered from a substance use disorder; this equals 992,000 teens or 1 in 25 people in this age group. [1]
- About 443,000 adolescents age 12 to 17 had an alcohol use disorder in 2017, or 1.8% of adolescents. [1]
- An estimated 741,000 adolescents suffered from an illicit drug use disorder in 2017, or about 3% of this population.
[1] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2018). Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
The percentage has dramatically increased since the opioid epidemic has escalated in our area, state and across the country. To make matters worse, oftentimes insurance coverage for treatment of adolescents is not available and parents have to pay out of pocket for assistance and access to resources.
Adolescents in recovery who attend recovery high schools are more likely to abstain completely from alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs than their non-recovery high school-attending counterparts. They also exhibit less absenteeism from school. (Finch, Tanner-Smith, Hennessy & Moberg, 2018)
What about our kids? Is this really a problem in our area?
Of the 160,000 students in Wake County, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction reported 499 cases of drug possession in the 2016-2017 school year. That showed a 25.6% increase in reported cases compared to the year before.
People are most likely to begin abusing drugs*—including tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drugs— during adolescence and young adulthood (ages 12-17). By the time they are seniors, almost 70 percent of high school students will have tried alcohol, half will have taken an illegal drug, nearly 40 percent will have smoked a cigarette, and more than 20 percent will have used a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose. [1]
[1] Johnston, L.D.; O’Malley, P.M.; Bachman, J.G.; and Schulenberg, J.E. Monitoring the Future National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings, 2013. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2013. Available at www.monitoringthefuture.org 2. Sussman, S.; Skara, S.; and Ames, S.L. Subst1.
Past year vaping of marijuana, which has more than doubled in the past two years, was reported at 20.8% among 12th graders, with 10th graders not far behind at 19.4% and eighth-graders at 7.0%. Past month marijuana vaping among 12th graders nearly doubled in a single year to 14% from 7.5%–the second-largest one-year jump ever tracked for any substance in the history of the survey. (The largest was from 2017-2018 with past month nicotine vaping among 12th graders).
Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug by adolescents. After remaining mostly stable for many years, daily use of marijuana went up significantly since 2018 among eighth and 10th graders–now at 1.3% and 4.8% respectively. However, overall past-year marijuana use rates remain steady among teens (35.7% among 12th graders; 28.8% among 10th graders; and 11.8% among eighth-graders).
Teens are clearly attracted to vaping products, which are often concentrated amounts of drugs disguised as electronic gadgets,” said NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow. “Their growing popularity threatens to undo years of progress protecting the health of adolescents in the U.S.”
Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Past year misuse of the ADHD medication Adderall saw a significant decline over the past five years among 10th and 12th graders–from 4.6% to 3.1% for 10th graders and from 6.8% to 3.9%, for 12th graders. However, there was a significant increase among eighth-graders – now reported to be 2.5%, up from 1.3% in 2014.
Substance use at an early age is an important predictor of the development of a substance use disorder later. The majority of those who have a substance use disorder started using before age 18 and developed their disorder by age 20.7 The likelihood of developing a substance use disorder is greatest for those who begin use in their early teens.
Wake Monarch will serve as an umbrella corporation
Wake Monarch’s primary purpose is to create programs and environments aimed at the prevention, reduction of, and recovery from, substance use by adolescents in the Triangle region of North Carolina. This Organization will develop a system of recovery programs, activities, and counseling designed to provide an innovative approach to education and addiction recovery for adolescents. Through this system of education and recovery support, we strive to improve an adolescent’s quality of life so that he/she becomes a productive member of society in sustained recovery.
Wake Monarch will execute this purpose and mission through some key components:
Wake Monarch Academy (WMA), Recovery High School: WMA will cultivate a model community where students can achieve quality college-preparatory education, achieve academic success, and enjoy a genuine high school experience in a safe, sober environment. This innovative mode of wellness and education will provide a supportive and recovery environment with programs and services not available in traditional high schools.
Wake Monarch Alternative Peer Group (WMAPG): WMAPG will continue the recovery support not only for Wake Monarch Academy students, but also other adolescents who need recovery support. WMAPG will offer after school and weekend programs in a sober environment implementing engaging peer-based activities. The services and programs provided will assist the recovering adolescent to further develop the community commitment to recovery from substance use.
Proposed School Model:
Wake Monarch Academy will open as a private school model. It is hopeful that one day we could follow a public/private model as demonstrated by Archway Academy in Houston, Texas (http://www.archwayacademy.net/). Archway Academy is the largest recovery high school in the United States. Members of the Wake Monarch Academy board had the opportunity to train with leaders at Archway Academy in order to learn and implement best practices.
The public charter school’s role at Archway Academy is to provide and oversee the education component of the school. The private non-profit provides the recovery support that is woven into the school’s daily operations. Archway Academy charges monthly tuition near $1,000 per month, though they offer scholarships and sliding scale pricing to those in need. Of the approximately 40 recovery high schools in the nation, many different models exist, due to varying state regulations and legislation. Massachusetts is the only state in which legislation provides for and funds recovery schools. There are five public recovery high schools in Massachusetts.
Wake Monarch Academy will strive to 1) to meet and exceed state requirements for a high school diploma or equivalent degree, 2) to educate students who are in active recovery from alcohol and substance use, 3) to provide an environment that supports students who are working a program of recovery. Additionally, support would also be provided for the family of an adolescent working and living in recovery.
Who We Would Serve:
Students from the Wake County area, and potentially those in surrounding counties. We anticipate enrolling no more than ten students our first year which is comparable to initial enrollment for other recovery high schools.
Admission Criteria:
Students who attend Wake Monarch Academy will establish their motivation to achieve and maintain their sobriety. Students must attend outside recovery programming regularly and submit to random drug testing. Enrollment at a recovery high school is typically ongoing, or a rolling enrollment, due to the nature of addiction and recovery. Admission protocol might also include things like a compelling essay, in-person interviews, and supportive reference letters from the student’s parent, home high school principal or counselor, sponsor, and primary treatment provider.
Start Date:
Projected 2021
Location:
Our recovery high school’s physical location is still to be determined. Recovery schools are typically part of a public school and/or charter school system. Other recovery high schools open as private schools within churches or synagogues, although the school is not religiously affiliated. Transportation for students is key and needs to be within access of a public transit system as well as eating venues, educational resources, and opportunities for community engagement.
For further information, please visit our website at https://www.wakemonarchacademy.org/
