FEDERAL MONEY FIGHTS DRUGS IN COVINGTON

$5.7 Million Grant Funds Programs

COVINGTON -- Unlike other Northern Kentucky school-based drug abuse
prevention programs, Covington's is funded by a $5.7 million federal grant
the district received in 2001.

That money has enabled Covington Independent Public Schools (CIPS) to
implement a comprehensive drug abuse prevention program to engage the
entire community in helping its students stop using drugs or, even better,
avoid them entirely.

"The reason that we have the funding and the resources is because we
actively pursue it n we're being proactive," said Resource Development
Coordinator Warner Allen.

Four-Point Plan

The grant was allocated in $2-million chunks during the past three years.
Unused funds from previous years have enabled the district to continue the
"Ready to Learn" program, which it hopes to continue through community
partnerships and additional grants.

"From the beginning, we've had a plan to integrate both the services and
the finances to build a community base of support both for people and for
funding," said Director of Prevention Services Vickie Dansberry. "I think
the planning is really what sets us apart."

That plan includes building a network of business and community support to
continue the district's four-point approach to drug-abuse prevention:
providing training and support, strengthening families, preventing drug and
violence problems and promoting physical and mental health.

At the heart of the district's program are two mentoring programs that aim
to spread an anti-drug message and foster development of positive role models.

The "Youth Out Front" program is run by and for Covington students. Student
mentors organize social marketing campaigns to raise awareness of drug
abuse, and, obviously, discourage it. They also speak at workshops and
public forums. Later this month, the group will launch a "Got Dreams? Lose
the Booze" alcohol-abuse awareness campaign, with several more to follow
this year on tobacco and marijuana.

"Disgusted" By Ads

Senior Nicholas Rednour, 17, the newest member of the group, says he joined
because he was "disgusted" by television ads for alcohol and tobacco.

"Members of my family have had ailments because of alcohol and tobacco, and
I know there are a lot of people in the same kinds of situations as me," he
said.

"I've been fortunate to have a mom that has stressed from the time I was
really little: you don't do those things. Other people might not have been.
So it's important to get out there and get the word out so that they don't
use those things."

The "Across Ages" mentoring program pairs Covington students for two hours
each week with adults aged 55 years and older. They do a variety of
activities to prepare youth to lead a healthy, positive lifestyle.
Dansberry said that students who participate in the program have had 17
percent fewer disciplinary problems and 6 percent fewer absences per month
than other students.

Dansberry said that the "Ready to Learn" program is in a constant state of
evolution and adaptations to best meet students' needs. Lack of funding has
forced CIPS to end several "Ready to Learn" initiatives, such as a
counseling program. Officials have prepared for the time when federal grant
money eventually runs out, however, by integrating programs into the school
system, training teachers in drug education, and developing community
resources.

"All About Partnerships"

"We're feeling pretty confident at this point. We've found ways to sustain
the programs that we really felt were working, we've tweaked the ones that
needed a little bit more support to where they're going to be reaching the
needs that we need to be," Dansberry said.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing just donated $5,000 to the "Youth Out Front"
alcohol-abuse awareness campaign, and CIPS works with various other
organizations, including the NKY Chamber of Commerce, Citigroup, Covington
Partners in Prevention and faith-based organizations.

"It's all about partnership. We're very fortunate to have the partners on
board that we have. We hope to continue that and to grow that," Allen said.

For more information, visit www.readytolearn.us.

How Other NKY Schools Fight Drugs

Ludlow

Ludlow Independent Schools combine education and mentoring in an effort to
divert students from drug use and abuse. Title IV and district funds enable
it to offer the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program in the
elementary school, where Ludlow police educate the children about the
dangers of using drugs and techniques to resist the temptation.

A peer-mentoring program in the Ludlow High School has been particularly
effective, according to Assistant Superintendent Barbara Martin. High
school students receive class credit for working in elementary school
homerooms, and often end up becoming role models and friends to the children.

Diocese Of Covington

The Diocese of Covington takes a more hands-off approach: it lets its
schools decide what education to provide. Many spend it on programs
provided by Catholic Social Services (CSS). Its elementary and middle
school program, now in eight diocesan grade schools, focuses on prevention
education in nine classroom sessions. The curriculum varies according to
grade level, but CSS Program Director Mary VanAusdall said that having the
social confidence to reject pressure to use and abuse drugs is a recurring
theme.

"The research really shows that children can certainly benefit by learning
those social competency skills," she said.

The CSS high school program, now in two public and three diocesan high
schools, emphasizes counseling and treatment to address drug abuse and
mental health issues.

"I think that schools' primary role is to educate on an academic level,"
VanAusdall said. "But they also recognize that students are unable to meet
their potential if there are other issues that make them unable to focus."

Campbell County

Campbell County Schools take a three-step approach to address those issues:
education, prevention and intervention. It celebrates "Red Ribbon Week"
annually in the elementary schools, with activities and speakers who
deliver an anti-drug message to the children. Drug abuse prevention is
built into the curriculums in the middle and high schools, and those
schools also have School Resource Officers (SROs), county police who come
to the school every day to build rapport with students.

The district takes a proactive stance on drug abuse: it contracts with a
K-9 unit, which has the authority to bring drug-sniffing police dogs into
any school at any time. Schools conduct random drug testing on students who
drive to school and/or participate in extracurricular activities. The test
detects 11 different drugs and their quantities in the bloodstream. Student
with serious drug problems are sometimes diverted to Juvenile Drug Court
and/or Campbell County Central Day Treatment, an alternative school for
troubled students.

"Most, if not all, schools in Northern Kentucky approach it in a similar
fashion," said district Community Relations Director Melissa Pryor.

Boone County

Boone County, in collaboration with NorthKey Community Care Regional
Prevention Center, uses a similar program, called "Positive Option for
Substance and Tobacco" (POST). The program is offered in the district's
Alternative Center for Education, and Principal Karl Feltman said it helps
at-risk students and their parents or guardians learn to avoid tobacco and
substance abuse. The other schools implement a variety of programs, from
D.A.R.E. to Red Ribbon Week. Boone also uses county SROs in most of its
public and private schools.

"They get to know these kids as well as the teachers do," said Boone County
Sheriff's Department Spokesman Tom Scheben. "It's probably our first n
really our best n line of defense."