NEW PLAN TO FIGHT DRUG ABUSE TAKES ROOT IN SHOREWOOD

Shorewood -- Six months after the Shorewood School Board dropped the
anti-drug program known as DARE, the community appears invigorated and
confident that it is on track in curbing alcohol, tobacco and drug use
among students.

"Our approach now is to get everyone involved," said Jack Linehan,
superintendent of Shorewood schools.

In the past, he said, people may have singled out a particular school and
said it "has a problem," but "we learned that a school-based model by
itself just didn't work."

On a bitterly cold and snowy night last week, more than 100 Shorewood
parents attended a second meeting held at the high school designed to
explain the multipronged attack on the problem and what would be expected
of them to make it a success.

Across the state, the primary tool to keep kids clean of drugs, alcohol and
tobacco use is the police-taught program known as DARE -an acronym for Drug
Abuse Resistance Education. About 78% of the school districts in the state
have DARE as part of their curriculum, and Shorewood is one of only a few
that has dropped it.

Questions regarding the effectiveness of DARE, developed by former Los
Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates in 1983, surfaced in recent years as
Shorewood student surveys and incidents showed that use was one the rise,
an experience similar to a number of other communities.

School officials were clearly frustrated.

"We at the schools were feeling that it was a terribly lonely battle and
one that we were losing," Linehan said. "I'm sure many parents felt the
same way." A committee of educators, community leaders and parents studied
a variety of drug education programs including DARE before settling on Life
Styles, a program that emphasizes all the possible choices and consequences
rather than just the legal ramifications of using.

The DARE program might be worse than having no program at all, the
committee concluded after examining a number of studies. But they also
concluded that any in-school program centered on sixth-, seventh- and
eighth-grade students was not enough. Parents, older students and the
community had to be involved.

Crosstalks, a group for high school students, experienced a growth spurt,
jumping from 19 members two years ago to 40 this year. Four students who
spoke at the parent meeting credited parent attitudes, personal goals and
keeping busy with other activities as influencing their decisions to avoid
drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

"I made the decision in the eighth and ninth grade," said a girl who is a
senior. "All my friends had started smoking and drinking, and it was
difficult. I had to make new friends. I credit my parents for teaching me
my values."

Shorewood Responds, a community program formed several years ago, also is
evolving. This year, the group plans to:

Continue youth activity nights at the intermediate school that include
student-planned activities ranging from ComedySportz to Silly String fights
and more traditional dances and basketball games.

Help train sports coaches to recognize and deal with alcohol and drug
problems among athletes.

Develop a parent education program to complement the school program.

Expand the anti-drug message to include the violent implications of the
international drug trade, including issues of race and poverty. The hope is
to reach high school students who would not want to contribute to racism,
poverty, violence or exploitation.

Continue the existing workshop for new drivers and their parents, providing
them with information from police, insurance companies and others on the
impact of being caught driving under the influence.

Come up with a top-notch summer recreation program just for eighth-grade
students -- the time many begin smoking, drinking or drug experimentation.

Form a task force to find social service gaps in dealing with these issues.

Emily Koczela, a School Board delegate to Shorewood Responds, invited
parents to volunteer to work on one or more of the projects but added that
if they didn't have the time, they shouldn't feel guilty.

"If you don't have the time, just go home and take care of your kid and
your kid's three best friends," she said.

Koczela added that the community group's focus isn't that any use is "the
end of the world," but the approach is to help kids deal with their reality.

"It's just too hard for many of our kids to get through adolescence without
using," she said. "We're trying to make it easier."

At the same time, school officials have gotten more strict with both
enforcement and punishment for users, she noted.

Linehan, who has clearly been frustrated as surveys reported increased use
and drinking by Shorewood teens made headlines, was enthusiastic about the
new approach and the response from the community.

"I think we're seeing a bit of a renaissance," he said. "We're seeing a
generation of parents who are less tolerant of drug use and students who
share that sophistication."