OFFICER WRITES PROGRAM TO REPLACE DARE

Community Service Officer Michael Webster realized that he was offering
elementary school students an outdated drug and alcohol awareness program
that included topics they would discuss in later grades.

"We had outgrown the DARE curriculum," he admitted. "They hadn't changed
the program since 2001 and we were dealing with things like the Leonard
case where two 12-year-old girls in town became involved with a predator
on the Internet. We had a huge Internet problem but we were teaching don't
use cigarettes."

Webster admitted he was frustrated but didn't exactly want to scrap the
national Drug Awareness Resistance Education program until he received a
little inspiration from a Rotary Club meeting last year.

"A pediatrician at the meeting said why don't you just start your own
program?" he recalled. "I asked teachers and they were all pretty
unanimous that they wanted more Internet safety and cyber bullying
classes, so I created all of our original stuff from a compilation of
lesson plans I had gathered over the years."

The newly implemented "Step Up! substance abuse and Internet Safety
program was composed by Webster with the help of community businesses who
donated printing and design services. The cover of the workbook that fifth
grade students receive features a hiker climbing a steep cliff with
another mountain in the background.

"We were able to get 500 workbooks printed, a banner and all the materials
for less than $600 which is significantly less than the current program,"
he said.

As a community service officer Webster provides a wide variety of programs
including car seat safety, bike safety through a bike rodeo, Internet
safety for fourth graders, talks with community groups and traffic
enforcement and studies.

He said over the years he came to realize that the Internet was driving a
lot of behaviors including online name-calling and parents, teachers and
police had concerns about children unknowingly giving out personal
information to predators.

"Kids will be civil to each other in the cafeteria or in gym, but when
teens and adults get on the Internet, civility is thrown out the window,"
Webster said. "It never fails, two kids will start going at it on e-mail
and then one goes too far and says something so outrageous, the school
winds up with a stack of e-mails."

The new Step Up! program which was taught this year to fifth graders at
town elementary schools and fifth, sixth and seventh graders at Hartland
elementary and middle and St. Mary's schools focuses on respect,
accountability and responsibility.

The first activity allows kids to review powerful quotes about respect and
then create a definition of respect for themselves. They also learn how to
choose a screen name without giving out any personal information, facts
about smoking and how to deal with cyber bullies.

An important aspect of the program, Webster said, is making kids aware
that they will be held accountable if they participate in bullying.

"At first kids don't really understand the concept of accountability but
by the end they understand they will be held accountable if they send
someone a threatening or nasty e-mail at midnight," he said. "They know
they can't just threaten someone and not get into trouble for that."

The four-week program is flexible so Webster can add or subtract lessons
to fit any schools' needs.

"I know a lot of school systems in the state already have discontinued the
DARE program," Webster said. "If they are interested, I'll be more than
happy to show them what the Step Up! program is all about."