LIVING WHAT THEY LEARN

New Drug Prevention Program Will Require Students to Act As Drug-Free
Role Models

Students will be required to learn and live this program if they
choose to join it.

The Kimberly School District has received a charter to begin offering
the Idaho Drug Free Youth prevention program this year. The program
educates middle and high school students about drugs and alcohol, and
then asks them to act as role models for other students.

When Kimberly students sign the

program's agreement, they will be required to attend training
meetings, act as leaders for the program and even agree to take
random drug tests in order to ensure that they are practicing what they preach.

"There are currently more than 4,000 students participating in the
program, but the majority are in the northern Idaho area," said Donna
Stalley, clinical counselor and intervention specialist for the
district. "We will be the first to offer this in southern Idaho."

She hopes that more than 50 students will sign up for the program,
and she said it doesn't matter if students have ever experimented
with drugs or alcohol.

"I don't just want the A students," she said. "I want students who
will have the commitment and energy to act as role models for other students."

Stalley began advertising the program to students this week, which
commemorates a week of drug and alcohol prevention known as Red Ribbon Week.

She said drug and alcohol use in the Kimberly School District is not
above average, but she said the programs that the district offers are
proactive preventative steps.

"The reason we have programs like this are so we can teach kids to
make good choices," Stalley said. "It's not that we have a problem,
but it's there to help kids who may be thinking about trying drugs or alcohol."