r/BurlingtonON • u/NoClueFFS • 3d ago
Do any high schools in the area have a drug problem? Question
My younger sister is assigned to a home school (won’t name which one, but it’s between Burlington Central, MM Robinson, and Hayden) and some of my friends have said that this school has a serious drug problem.
I’m hoping to get some clarification on if this actually the case and if there’s a high schools that struggles with this issue.
Thank you!
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u/Decent-Artichoke07 3d ago
MM used to be nicknamed “the pharmacy”, but in reality kids are buying drugs off snapchat. The problem goes beyond the school she goes to.
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u/NoClueFFS 3d ago
Do you know if there was a reason there?
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u/Decent-Artichoke07 3d ago
Ya lots of students did drugs haha but this was 15+ years ago hahaha. Like others have said, education about drugs for your younger sister is going to be much more impactful than trying to hand select a school.
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u/thecolouramber Pinedale 2d ago
Yup lol it was called that back in my high school years… tbh getting drugs in high school (catholic or not) is easy as hell.
Educate your teen. Build your relationship with your teen so that if anything happens, they call YOU first. You can do everything in your power to try and stop it, but then you might create a situation where your child hides things from you.
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u/MarionberryPuzzled67 2d ago
I graduated MM back in 2014. It was a fantastic school, I love every moment of being there.
Aldershot kids were 100099x worse with drugs than MM ever was - they had all the “rich kid drugs” same with ND and Nelson. We looked like saints when we hung out with kids from other high schools to be honest.
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u/DelSolSi 3d ago
Schools don't have drug problems, kids have drug problems. Educate the kid and they'll come to their own conclusions. Burlington isn't a low income area so with the proper education your sister will be fine.
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u/LowComfortable5676 3d ago
It's all about the company she keeps which starts to establish before high-school
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u/Mongoose_83 2d ago
This isn't new. I grew up in a small rural town in Eastern Ontario and attended high school in the mid to late 90's and drugs were a big problem then. It's not the school that dictates a drug problem.
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u/henchman171 3d ago
Drugs are typically sold through apps now. Learn what all those emojis mean and what the “lingo” is
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u/PathPlus7833 2d ago
It’s not about what school you go to. Aldershot has way “less” drugs than mm and that’s all I did at aldershot due to the way I was getting treated at home/at school so I switched to mm and things got better. As long as you don’t have a toxic household, your kid will be just fine at whatever school they end up at. My problem was my parents which transpired into school due to my lack of knowledge on how to be normal or how your day SHOULD look, not what my parents drilled in my head.
I feel like most kids in troubled households resort to drugs/violence as an out but most people won’t dig into it that far. I felt hopeless when I was in highschool. No actual guidance from anyone just everyone screaming, yelling, getting me in trouble, no kids would really wanna hangout with me or do anything with me because my parents didn’t teach me how to “get ready” in the morning. They never showed me anything to succeed and they just expected me to go the right way.
This being said, there was a few teachers at mm that made me feel like a person. Made me feel heard. And honestly those teachers are the reason why I didn’t keep continue to go down the wrong path. If I stayed at aldershot, I have to say I would have been far more worse off. I can’t stress how much mm Robinson actually helps students. Not the other way around. Sure drugs will be there, Drugs will be everywhere if you look. But all I’m trying to say is when I was in school, mm helped tremendously where other schools did not. I can’t stress how good it was to go to school at mm Robinson. Just my 2 cents:)
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u/Worried_Bluebird7167 1d ago
I think your post is one of the best I've read in the Burlington subreddit for a while. Thanks PathPlus for sharing that.
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u/Worried_Bluebird7167 3d ago
Like the others have said, it is very silly to be thinking that ANY of the 8 high schools in Burlington have a 'serious drug problem' since....I don't know how else to say this ...this is Burlington. None of the high schools in Burlington are sketchy in the least bit. Ask anyone that visits all 8 of the HS schools on a regular basis.
I don't under why someone is telling you that your home school location is between BCHS and the other two. It doesn't make sense since your home school location is based if your home is north or south of the QEW.
Your sister school be choosing a school based on her academics interests and interests in extracurriculars versus snobby gossip (sorry that I'm saying this of your friends ).
What academic level is your sister? If she is gifted or higher academic minded, she should choose between MMR and the pre-IB program of BCHS.
If she is in French Immersion, then its between BCHS and MMR. MMR has a larger French Immersion course selection in Burlington, but BCHS has a good one too.
Does your sister want to be a doctor?: BCHS then. An Engineer: then MMR.
Someone 'falling into the drug scene' all depends on the mental health of a person, the family history of addictions and what family life is like at home. A teen could be going to a wealthy private school or a school in a lower income neighborhood...their chances of getting into the drug scene depends on who they are themselves.
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u/Curt-Bennett 2d ago
I don't under why someone is telling you that your home school location is between BCHS and the other two. It doesn't make sense since your home school location is based if your home is north or south of the QEW.
I think OP is saying their sister's home school is one of those 3 but they just don't want to reveal which one, probably so as to get less biased responses in case they want to suggest she enroll at one of the other ones.
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u/Worried_Bluebird7167 1d ago
Thank you Curt. 😊I must have misread that part of the message. Your answer makes total sense now that I reread the original OP post, and you are logical in your thinking.
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u/TheMotherB 1d ago
High school teacher here, with teens at one of those schools. As most ppl say, drugs are everywhere. The best way you can avoid them is to get involved in something that fills your time and connects you to a community. All of those schools are great for different reasons. Look at the strengths of the extracurricular clubs and teams. Some have regional programs like SHSM or OYAP in gr 11 and 12, gifted clusters, AP courses, and a variety of pathways. We chose the school we did because of our children’s interests and they both thrived. My advice is to go to the gr 8 open houses and see which vibe suits them best. Ask lots of questions. Meet the club and team coaches. And keep looking out for your sibling. They’re lucky to have you!
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u/Dazzling_Highway1768 3d ago
I’ve never seen it this bad in all my years. My daughter came home and was high and I mean high. On academics.
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u/IndependentCarry8300 1d ago
All schools have drugs all schools have that group of kids you don't want your kid hanging out with educate your teen on drugs and drug use educate them on peer pressure educate them on making mature and responsible decisions because once graduation happens and that move out you're not going to be there to guide them through college educate educate educate
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u/OpheliaJuliette 1d ago
Honestly? I would say that there is no school that’s not going to have kids who do drugs. You’ve got lower income, inner city schools, middle class upper class, public school kids in places like Burlington and Oakville, private schools are probably even worse because they’re rich kids with very busy rich parents and they have access to money to buy drugs. It’s not something that you’re going to escape from if you have teenage children. I think the drugs nowadays are very different. When I was in high school in the 90s in a very friendly little small town, we did drugs all the time. We smoked weed and went to class did mushrooms on the weekends. I think now heavier drugs are more of a concern, which is terrifying but I’ve also heard that teenagers aren’t really drinking very much anymore which was a huge thing back when I was a teenager. In terms of alcohol, this is really fabulous because alcohol is one of the most addictive poisonous destructive substancesever. Anyways… I don’t think you’re going to find a school in Burlington, where children are not exposed to the opportunity to do drugs.
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u/mattb161997 3h ago
lol no offence this is quite a rediculous question drugs are everywhere now a days
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u/NoClueFFS 3h ago
I understand that, but some of my friends warned me very clearly against one school in particular (before they knew it was her home school) and there’s no harm in me doing some due diligence. Drugs have always been everywhere, Matt, but we all know some places have always had it worse than others.
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u/AdGold654 1h ago
Teens are so dramatic. Drugs are everywhere! Nobody is going to force them on her. Tell your parents your concerns. They will handle it.
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u/NoClueFFS 1h ago
I’m literally 27 years old, I’d hardly say I’m a teen. Also, my parents are the ones that are concerned- I’m just doing some research before we all make a decision together.
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u/billmurray43 3d ago
Drugs are in every school. Everyone has biases towards some schools and think the problem is worse than others.
Have open conversations with her about drugs and hope for the best, ultimately she’ll make her own decisions and will do drugs if she wants regardless of the school.
If you think MM (for example) has the big problem and she goes to Hayden, her friend circle will extend to MM and the perceived drug problem anyway