CLARK WILL MAKE DRUG AND ALCOHOL EDUCATION PART OF CURRICULUM

The Ministry of Education will make alcohol and drug education part of
the mandatory school curriculum for Grade 10 students, Education
Minister Christy Clark announced Thursday in an exclusive interview
with VanNet reporters.

Ministry staff are drawing up the required curriculum surrounding
alcohol and drug awareness, which will be taught as a key component of
the new Planning 10 course to hit schools in September.

"Every child everywhere in British Columbia who graduates from our
high school will have to have a core understanding of the impact of
substance abuse," Clark said. "And I think that's really timely at
this part of the year especially, given that we've seen some tragic
accidents and kids are out at grad parties and probably some of them
experimenting with substance abuse."

When asked whether she feels districts are not addressing the issue
enough in schools today, Clark responded, "I don't. I think it's
spotty. I think in some districts they do a lot of it. In some
districts they don't do very much of it _ there are so many different
things happening out there that there isn't really a guarantee about
what's effective and what's not."

Linda Reimer, the president of the District Parent Advisory Council,
said in a later interview she knows of drug and alcohol awareness in
some schools locally - but not all.

"I suppose it depends on what school you're attending and what the
wishes are of the staff and the principal of the school concerning
this type of education," Reimer said. "I know that parents will
appreciate standardization of curriculum."

Holly Butterfield, chair of the school board, said she's interested in
finding out the details of the new curriculum.

"At a glance, it certainly seems like a good idea," she said. "Nobody
can find fault with wanting to make kids more aware of the dangers of
use and abuse of drugs and alcohol. But it's always nice to see the
details."

A spokesman for the RCMP, however, said in a telephone interview the
curriculum may be too little, too late.

Cpl. Tom James, who works out of the detachment that serves Coquitlam
and Port Coquitlam, said children have their first experience with
drugs as early as 11 - not 15, as the Grade 10 course would suggest.

"We've got 12-year-olds that we know who are involved in drugs and in
particular, a few young individuals are young entrepreneurs who have
been approached by older individuals who are actually doing
distribution to the middle school," James said. "Although I welcome it
because anything helps, it should be focusing it on younger grades as
well. Give them the life skills earlier, continue it through middle
school and high school ... before these kids run into drugs."

James also asked why the Ministry of Education chose Grade 10 as the
year for drug and alcohol education. "Have they come out with any
studies to say that kids in Grade 10 are most vulnerable to drugs and
need education, or what?"

While vague on details, the education minister remained optimistic.

"The important thing about it is it will be consistent across the
province, and it will be evidence-based," Clark said. "So we're going
to work into the curriculum things we know work. We are going to
provide that education in a way that we know packs the biggest punch
and will be most effective in terms of changing kids' behaviour."