NATIONAL GUARD HELPS STUDENTS 'STAY ON TRACK'

With a Blackhawk helicopter, Humvees and a race car on school
grounds, it is not hard to get students' attention.

And once the National Guard officers had the Fieldale-Collinsville
Middle School students' attention Thursday, they launched an
anti-drug program called "Stay on Track."

The kickoff at the middle school was the first in Virginia, said
Chief Warrant Officer Thomas French, one of the program's
organizers, because that school was the first to work out scheduling
and other details.

The program is sponsored by the National Guard Bureau, based in
Washington, D.C.

Stay on Track is a 12-lesson program that combines drug use
prevention with the appeal of motorsports to combat peer pressure in
middle schools, said Sgt. Kenneth Muse, who teaches the program at
Fieldale-Collinsville and Laurel Park middle schools.

After speaking to students in the school's gym, the officers led the
students outside to have pictures taken in front the National Guard
race car, some Army Humvee vehicles and the highlight of the day, a
Blackhawk helicopter. Cup or Busch car? what number?

"Cool," "awesome" and "interesting" were some of the adjectives
students used over and over again when asked what they thought of
the program and its kickoff.

Sixth-grader Tyler Byrd, son of Charles and Sarah Byrd, said the
program "gives you courage to say aEno.'"

Stay on Track is tied to motorsports because just as a car must be
kept in good condition to run well, so must a body be taken care of
to stay in good health, Muse said.

"It takes a team to win a race," he said. The pit crew, crew chief
and driver must communicate effectively.

In the "Stay on Track" program, students are compared to drivers.
Muse is the crew chief, and the physical education teachers who
participate in the program are the spotters who tell the driver
where he or she is on the track in relation to other cars.

That is why parents have an important role in "Stay on Track," said French.

According to Muse, the program's homework requires students to talk
to their parents to answer some of the questions, opening a line of
communication.

French said this communication is positive, as opposed to the
commonly negative communication that happens after a parent notices
his or her child might be using drugs or alcohol.

"It gives the parent the opportunity to talk to their children about
difficult decisions," such as giving in to peer pressure to take
drugs, he said.

In addition, the program focuses on effective strategies for
teamwork, keeping the body healthy, learning to cope with stressful
situations, being able to make split-second decisions and setting
and achieving goals, National Guard literature states.

Speaking to the crowd of students in the school's gym, Muse said
there are two kinds of pressure: positive and negative.

The people in the students' lives that give them positive pressure,
such as to complete their homework, do so because "they want you to
succeed," he said.

"They know how hard life is outside of these walls," he said.
"Freedom isn't free. We believe that all of you are the future."

He also told the students if they could handle the positive stress
in their lives, they also can handle the negative, such as peer
pressure to make poor decisions.

Sixth-grade English and social studies teacher Kathy Thacker said
that if one student was encouraged to stay off drugs, the program
was effective.

"Anything to motivate any of these students is worthwhile," she said.

French said the program aims to give students the self-confidence
they need not to give in to peer pressure. He said instructors tell
students that peers who would pressure them to make certain
decisions are "not who you want to fit in with."

Lt. Col. Colleen Chipper, Virginia National Guard counter-drug
coordinator, said 11 states in the country are participating in the
pilot program, which is set to be fully functional next year.