DRUG PREVENTION

NORWALK -- For the fifth straight year, about 1,200 seventh graders at
Norwalk public schools will learn a serious lesson about the dangers of drugs.

Ginger Katz of Norwalk, who lost her son Ian in 1996 to a heroin overdose,
will share Ian's story with seventh graders at five middle schools and then
ask them to make a vow to never use drugs. It's a key component of an
18-hour drug prevention curriculum sponsored by the Courage to Speak
Foundation, Inc., a Norwalk-based non-profit Katz founded, dedicated to
keeping youths drug free. This year, the curriculum will be taught at Roton
Middle School, West Rocks Middle School, Ponus Ridge Middle School, Nathan
Hale Middle School and Side By Side Community School. "Our curriculum is
based on a young man," said Katz. "So, not only do we touch the minds of
kids, we touch their hearts.

And, I believe that's how we reach them." The curriculum reaches a
population Katz believes is at a high risk for using marijuana, tobacco,
alcohol, prescription drugs and inhalants. Following Ian's death when he
was aged 20, Katz visited schools in Connecticut, Pennsylvannia and Florida
asking them what drug prevention curriculum they had. Some told her they
used information from the Internet and some said they had none. "I was
surprised because I figured this should be part of our educational
process," she said. "Because every child is going to be exposed to this.
Drugs stifle the learning process for our children." Katz, who is piloting
a similar curriculum this year to 600 freshmen at Brien McMahon High
School, thinks there should be a drug prevention curriculum in every grade.
"There's gotta be something in every grade, every grade," she said. "This
is not something that's a one-shot deal. This is an on-going dialogue. It's
an on-going problem.

The reality is, it exists." After hearing Ian's story, students participate
in 11 classroom activities taught mostly by health teachers, which give
them the tools to resist drugs and alcohol and guide their peers down the
right path. The program wouldn't be possible without the teachers, Katz
explained. "I want to thank the teachers," said Katz. "They make it work.
They're the ones that make it happen." At the end of the curriculum is
Family Night, when parents learn about the dangers of drugs, the challenges
their children face and what they can do to help. This year's event was
held on March 14 at West Rocks Middle School and 450 parents came out, Katz
said. She explained that parents need to have an ongoing dialogue about
drugs with their children in a non-confrontational manner. "Don't
threaten," she said. "Don't demand.

Just have a dialogue with your child.

Start at a very early age. The earlier, the better." Detective Michael
Murray, who works in the police department's youth division, will teach the
alcohol unit of the curriculum for the second time this year. He explains
to students that a state law requires police to notify the school system
anytime a student is arrested for alcohol or drugs, even if it isn't on
school property.

Many times, students don't realize how much trouble they can get into, he
said. Murray also teaches that alcohol is a drug. "That's part of what we
teach them, that it is a drug and if they start drinking alcohol at a
younger age, they're more likely to become alcoholics," said Murray. The
message Murray drives home is "basically, they should wait until they're 21
to start drinking, so their bodies are fully developed and mentally they're
a little bit more able to handle it." For more information about The
Courage to Speak Foundation, Inc. log onto www.couragetospeak.org.