SMART CHOICES PROGRAM TAUGHT IN GRADE SCHOOLS

BOCA RATON -- Two 11-year-olds go into a convenience store and one dares
another to steal a pack of cigarettes.

The scenario, being played out in fifth-grade classes at three private
elementary schools, provokes students to consider what choice they would make.

The discussion that follows is part of Smart Choices, a new comprehensive
prevention program developed by the Boca Raton Police Department that deals
with bullying, drugs, alcohol, gangs, anger management, peaceful conflict
resolution and Internet safety.

Through role playing, cooperative learning groups and workbook exercises,
students at St. Paul Lutheran School, Grandview Preparatory School and Boca
Raton Christian School are learning how to think through potential problems
and weigh the consequences.

"They are at an age now where they want to fit in and might be getting into
things that aren't too productive," school resource officer Marc Ingellis
said. "We talk a lot about consequences, what is an arrest record and how
it can affect your future. We try to make it as realistic as possible."

The 17-week program is replacing the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program, which the police department implemented in 1987. Officers also
teach a conflict resolution program in sixth-grade classes, and a
gang-resistance program to seventh-graders. Smart Choices incorporates the
curriculum of all three programs.

Since it started last month, St. Paul Lutheran School teacher Karla Hardies
said she's noticed a change in her students and the questions they ask.

"I had kids who had no idea what marijuana was," Hardies said. "Now they
are taking what they are hearing and going home and asking mom and dad. I
don't think kids can hear enough about how to make good choices."

Street terms for cocaine, marijuana and cigarettes are being used in Jill
Kittredge's class at Grandview Preparatory School, where Officer Janine
Pratt talks about the consequences of drug use on the body and mind.
Kittredge, who had the D.A.R.E. program in her classroom last year, said
Smart Choices is more interactive and encourages students to dig deeper for
answers.

"Every school could benefit from this program," Kittredge said.

The department is testing Smart Choices at private schools with the goal of
presenting it to the Palm Beach County School Board for approval in public
schools, Ingellis said. South county school board member Mark Hansen said
he was unfamiliar with the program, but would look into it.

"We need to do whatever we can to present information to our youth on
making smart choices," Hansen said. "I always say we're not born winners,
we're not born losers, we're born choosers."