RED RIBBON WEEK IS HERE

Schools Around the Country to Take Part in Anti-Drug Campaign

With schools nationwide starting Red Ribbon Week celebrations today,
good decisions and living a drug- and alcohol-free life will be
stressed in thousands of classrooms.

Local education officials laud the initiative - the nation's oldest
and largest drug-prevention program - that encourages school
districts to partner with cities in getting the message to students.

But they also said promoting a healthy lifestyle needs to be part of
the daily classroom discussions, not just tied to weeklong campaigns
like Red Ribbon Week. Starting the discussions at an early age will
also benefit students, educators said.

"We have to teach them the difference between appropriate drugs
prescribed by the doctor and drug abuse, which is characterized by
addictive-type behavior," said Carol Strother, supervisor of health
services at Baldwin Park Unified.

Strother added that in kindergarten classes, a medicine cabinet
filled with "fake" medicine such as cough drops or aspirin, is part
of the drug education discussions.

"We keep it simple," she said.

The Red Ribbon Campaign was started when drug traffickers in Mexico
City killed DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985.

Ileana Reyes, director of communications for Informed Families, with
the National Family Foundation, which sponsors the Red Ribbon
program, said that the organization helps schools plan the weeklong
activities. But the district is responsible for setting the agenda of
the celebration, she said.

School districts have district-wide drug education programs tailored
for each grade, such as the Too Good for Drugs and Too Good for
Violence, which is offered in Pomona and Rowland unified, and
stresses making good decisions and not succumbing to peer pressure.

For the upper grades, some districts discuss drug issues in their
science and social science classes. For issues like steroids, some
districts rely on physical education teachers or coaches to inform
students about the risks.

Richard Evers, director of child welfare, attendance and secondary
education at Charter Oak Unified, said that steroids are being
discussed at the high school as part of the Health and Careers course
the students are required to take. The issue is important because of
student athletes, he added.

Officials said that revisions to the drug education curriculum are
revised based on new information from state and county health officials.

Ultimately, convincing students of making good personal choices and
leading a healthy lifestyle should be a topic of discussion everyday.

Various district officials point out that national campaigns
commemorated over one week focuses on broader issues and that having
lively and insightful discussions among teacher and students in class
is just as effective.

"We pay special attention during the week but it has be on the
everyone's mind every day," Evers said.