Anti-drug curriculum succeeds in Craig Schools
CRAIG COUNTY – A drug-prevention program in Craig County Schools has helped change the minds of local students regarding tobacco, alcoholic drinks and illegal drug use, sponsors say.
For five years a prevention specialist and school guidance counselors have worked with each student in specific grades at McCleary Elementary School, Craig County Middle School and Craig County High School.
Forty-six Craig 4-H members attended Craig County Junior 4-H Camp at the W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational & Conference Center at Smith Mountain Lake the week of June 20-24.
The program was financed through an area-wide grant of $50,000 from the Virginia Tobacco Settlement, through the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.
J.D. Carlton, the prevention specialist provided by Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, spent two to three days each week in the classrooms. He worked with McCleary Elementary Guidance Counselor Stephen Rickey, and the middle and high school’s counselor, Marcia Barrow.
“The results have been wonderful,” said Carlin “My main responsibilities are in the classroom, working with the kindergarten, first and second graders, doing drug education and prevention work…to keep them from every having problems with drugs.”
In addition to classroom time, Carlin said he spent time with students when they were in the cafeteria, the library and the gym.
“We know that positive influence in kids’ lives is a good relationship with a non-family member adult,” added Carlin, who lives near Vinton.
Susan Rieves-Austin, Blue Ridge’s service director, planning and response, said that although the majority of the money is used in Craig County for its in-school program, the rest goes to after-school programs at some schools in Botetourt County and Roanoke City.
Carlin said the curriculum being used in Craig schools, “Too Good for Drugs,” “has been a great fit, in large part due to having a specific program available for every grade level, K-8,” he said. He added TGFD is based on improving the factors that protect youth while reducing the factors that put youth at risk.
It focuses on five key life skills:
• goal setting,
• decision making,
• bonding with others,
• identifying and managing emotions, and communicating effectively.
Carlin pointed out TGFD is designed to help young people develop personal skills to help them resist alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use, “as well as appropriate attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use, knowledge of the negative consequences of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use and benefits of a drug-free lifestyle, and positive peer norms.”
Over these first four years plus next year, Carlin estimated almost every Craig student “will have experienced the curriculum at least once, and in many cases, two or three times.”
He works each year with students in kindergarden, first and second, sixth and seventh grades.
Carlin and the guidance counselors quizzed students on their attitudes about tobacco, drugs and alcohol.
According to the program, the most recent data available for the middle school students (2009-2010 Academic Year) shows the kind of success wanted for all youth participating in prevention programs as some considerable results were achieved. Some of the outcomes shown by post tests taken by the 94 students who completed the program include:
• 88.1 percent reported perceived harm from tobacco use to be moderate to great;
• 95.6 percent reported their parents had expressed disapproval of tobacco use as wrong to very wrong.
“In middle school we do a pre, ending and post survey, and get into some of their attitudes and behaviors.
In elementary school, the questions are about more concrete learning,” Carlin said.
Kindergarten, first and second-grade students’ survey results from 2010-11 show:
• 99.3 percent answered it is not safe to use tobacco;
• 100 percent answered breathing in tobacco smoke is not good for your lungs, and
• 99.3 percent answered when you have to make a decision, you should stop and think.
“We get great support from the Craig County School System. We get amazing, phenomenal support from the school board, the schools, the teachers,” Carlin said.
