Above: A flyer on the Social Host Law highlights upcoming ARHS celebratory milestones that may prompt more families or teens to host parties with underage drinking, including the prom. (image of edited cropped flyer)
Northborough and Southborough parents and caregivers are invited to attend (or stream) an info session in early May. The topic is the “Social Host Law”.
The session is timed to inform families in the community who might be planning to host/coordinate parties for teens celebrating upcoming milestones (or just making the most of spring and summer).
It’s worth noting that the talk is scheduled for a year when Algonquin is no longer offering a Junior Post Prom Party (JPPP).
Scroll down for more about the JPPP decision.
The flyer focuses on underage drinking, but the Social Host Law also relates to drug use.
For readers unfamiliar with the Massachusetts law — it holds adults (and sometimes teens) criminally liable for allowing drinking/drug use on property they control (including renting a room/facility).
The upcoming talk on the legal and safety issues is sponsored by Encompass, the community coalition focused on preventing and reducing substance misuse in Northborough and Southborough.
Encompass promotes:
Believe it or not, the school year is beginning to wind down! With May on the horizon, we have prom, graduation, and warm weather to look forward to!
Our community has SO much to celebrate, so join us on May 6th to learn how to celebrate safely! Detective Stephen Sullivan and Attorney Richard Rafferty will join us to speak about the Social Host Law and how parents and caregivers, and sometimes minors, are responsible for underage drinking.
This event will be recorded and livestreamed. All parents and caregivers are welcome, even if your child isn’t a junior or senior in high school! This is an important law that many people don’t understand. Join us to make sure that you do!
Questions? Concerns? Reach out to Encompass at etylek@town.northborough.ma.us.
The event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6th from 6:30 – 7:30 pm.
The program is clearly geared to families with teens, but parents & caregivers of all ages are welcome.
The talk will be held in Algonquin Regional High School library. But it will also be available for livestreaming or replaying via Northborough Media Connection’s YouTube Channel here.
No More JPPP for Algonquin
For decades, the APTO (Algonquin Parent Teacher Organization) has worked to offer a safe locked in night of substance free fun for juniors after the prom. But putting on a big bash to attract the kids was a big financial undertaking and required a lot of volunteers. In recent years, they struggled to attract both.
In the end, it was the waning attendance of students that led to the event’s demise. The financials and effort didn’t make sense unless a large percentage of the class participated.
Based on feedback from students who felt the night was too long, the APTO revamped the event into a shorter version last year. But even that didn’t attract high attendance.
The Community Advocate covered the ARHS Principal Sean Bevan’s explanation of the decision to retire the event this year, given during the Regional School Committee meeting last month.
The CA story reveals that the small percent of students that attended last year’s JPPP were also the ones that school administrators believed were less likely to be at risk for drinking or using drugs. You can read more here.
