Guidance programs raise awareness about drug dangers

By Kenny Keane, Globe staff writer
Posted Sept. 26, 2002

The focal point of change for the future in any instance primarily begins with the children of the world. So, too, would be the case for battling "one of the most vicious and destructive drugs ever discovered", according to Governor Tom Vilsack, as he delivered his keynote address during the Midwestern Governors Conference Summit on Methamphetamine on Sept. 19 at the Sioux City Convention Center.

"As we work to eradicate meth use, our number one priority should be protecting our children," the governor said. "We are seeing increasing instances of infants and young children being raised in the midst of this crisis. All of us need to devote our full resources to stopping this."

Vilsack said that particularly in Iowa, an interactive computer-based meth education program is being used for fifth and sixth-graders. Although this program has not surfaced within the Catholic Schools of Sioux City (CSSC), according to Mary Uhl, guidance counselor for CSSC grades K-8, there are steps being taken to educate children on the dangers of drug use and offer healthy alternatives.

"Right now, the teachers touch on the subjects of drug education and prevention within their own curriculum," Uhl said. "There's also a health curriculum, and that focuses on educating the students about the drugs available, peer pressure, negative consequences and then really focuses on healthy alternatives and the values of natural highs. That would include exercise, extra-curricular activities and spending time with family and friends. The focus there is on getting the students to look at those healthy alternatives and to practice them."

Through the guidance department, Uhl believes they supplement what is taught within the curriculum by emphasizing moral decision-making, coping skills and goal setting.

"We spend a lot of time within the middle schools setting goals, twice a year for each semester, and then going back and looking at their objectives to see if they've met their goals," she said. "Because we know that students who set goals for themselves focus on those goals, that's just another way to facilitate the prevention side of it.

"What we focus on with our students in the area of moral decision-making is just making good choices and knowing that there's not just one choice to make - that there are always alternatives. We also try to give them coping skills, have them work in groups and have friends as support for them when they're making the decisions."

The governor also emphasized the importance of "effective treatment programs to free people of addiction," in addition to "thorough education prevention programs to stop this before it starts."

Uhl spoke of two initial steps toward a program, starting with the 'Beyond the Bell' program, which began this year at Sacred Heart School in Sioux City. This will offer students alternative activities specifically during the hours of 3 and 7 p.m., which Uhl said is "crucial for that age group because they're usually on their own, and that would be a time when they may be put in situations that are difficult for them to resist."

The upcoming Red Ribbon Week, centered on drug awareness and prevention, has offered another opportunity with a nationwide program called "Freedom to be Drug Free/Plant the Promise". Uhl said they will be participating in this program, with students planting bulbs during the week and then watching for them to bloom in April, which is national Alcohol Awareness month.

The next step, according to Uhl, is to implement a comprehensive program that would be acceptable and fit the mission statement of the CSSC to be used across the system. She said they hope to make a decision by the end of this school year in order to start the program in the fall of 2003.

"We feel that within the system, we work hard to give our students the skills beginning very young that are going to help them make those good decisions as they get older," Uhl said. "If you compliment that with the actual drug education and specific drug prevention, we're hoping that it all comes together to help them stay drug free."