Sultan counselor engages students with DUI enactments

Sultan High School students watched one of their classmates get arrested last week ' twice in one day.

Fortunately, the student didn't have to go to jail. The mock arrest was part of a DUI enactment coordinated by Sultan High School's new chemical dependency counselor, Schana Odell.

The staged DUI arrest took place in front of the high school during both lunch periods on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to promote National Recovery Month in September and raise awareness of Odell's role at the school.

Odell has been a social worker for more than 15 years, and has extensive experience working with youth and families. As the district's chemical dependency specialist, Odell will be working with students and families at both the high school and middle school.

Odell is contracted to work at the high school by her employer, Catholic Community Services.

Odell worked out the logistics of the enactment with Snohomish County Sheriff's Deputy Craig Hess, the Sultan School District's school resource officer (SRO). They recruited Snohomish County Fire District No. 5 firefighters Eric Shaeffer, Jason Gwilt and Lt. Ron Bertholf to participate in the drill for an added sense of realism.

The scene involved an intoxicated driver, played by Sultan High School student Dillon James, and a deceased victim. In the scenario, James was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, admitting to it once he was "pulled over.GÇ¥

Hess escorted James out of the car and conducted authentic field-sobriety tests while students and school staff observed. The sheriff's deputy performed a litany of tests designed to give officers a series of clues as to whether the driver is intoxicated. There are three different levels of DUI detection; officers that are trained in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), officers trained in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), which is the most advanced.

Hess is trained at the ARIDE level.

Hess transferred to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office from the New York City Police Department in 2006. He has been assigned to Sultan High School since January, and has a certification from the National Association of School Resource Officers. As the Sultan School District SRO, Hess has taken a proactive approach to safety, enforcement, prevention and education.

He promotes campus safety by positioning his patrol car strategically, so that guests are forced to check in with him when visiting the school. In April he brought in a K-9, allowing the dog to perform a canvass of the locker area and parking lot. The dog alerted to three different vehicles during the exercise.

Hess has presented curriculum to Sultan School District staff on subjects like gang awareness and drug paraphernalia recognition, and has given a number of classroom presentations to students, including one about the Bill of Rights.

As a part of the DUI enactment, Hess will return to the classroom to educate students about the myriad repercussions and long-term effects of having a DUI on their record.

"I'm going to teach part two in the classroom; what happens after you've been arrested for DUI,GÇ¥ Hess said. "Because that's when all the bad things happen; the money, the fines, the loss of privileges.GÇ¥

DUI laws are much stricter for minors, Hess said. The legal limit for an adult driving under the influence of alcohol is .08, but just .02 for minors. And marijuana laws reflect zero tolerance for underage use.

Even though marijuana use was legalized with the passage of Initiative 502, driving under the influence of marijuana is still a DUI. For adults, anything above a blood-THC level of five nanograms is considered a DUI; it's anything above zero for minors.

Odell said she hoped the enactment served to increase awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated. She spent time interacting with students and providing information about what she does during the enactment. In addition to both intensive outpatient and outpatient treatment at the high school, Odell will facilitate youth education groups and one-on-one counseling services.

She wants to provide support to all students, even those who may not be struggling with substances themselves, Odell said, but may be worried about a friend or family member.

"I'm a chemical dependency counselor, but also have the additional benefit of having social work,GÇ¥ Odell said. "Families are welcome to come if they have questions. When you're talking about drugs and alcohol, there's a lot of things involved with that, and there's new things coming out all the time.GÇ¥

Catholic Community Services uses a method known as the Seven Challenges in its approach to treatment, which is specifically oriented toward youth. The Seven Challenges structure deviates from the traditional AA and NA method, and has proven to be more effective when dealing with young clients, Odell said.

The Seven Challenges works with teens to help identify issues and target harmful coping mechanisms and replace them with positive and safe outlets. The Seven Challenges method is considered an evidence-based form of adolescent treatment, and is based on honesty and open communication.

"It's utilizing some of the components of the traditional, but it's also taking an adolescent approach to that,GÇ¥ Odell said.

In addition to treatment services, Odell will perform outreach and resource coordination. Students struggling with basic needs, including food, clothing and housing, are welcome to come to her. Her office is located at Sultan High School in Classroom 102, also known as "Trichler's Room.GÇ¥ Odell has worked to create a comfortable space where students can feel welcome and at ease.

"I'm here as a support to the school, the students and the community,GÇ¥ Odell said.

For more information about Odell, visit www.sultan.k12.wa.us/newssd/ssd.cfm?id=199.