Education: A new weapon in the opioid crisis
When Brian White was hired as superintendent for the Butler School District in August, the school board said it was a priority for the district to combat the opioid crisis, which has hit the Butler area especially hard.
The district has had its share of incidents where students have been caught with illicit drugs on school property, said Nina Teff, school board president.
“It's not just a matter of punishing kids when they do that. We have an obligation to educate the kids before they do it,” Teff said.
As the opioid crisis continues, school districts and authorities across Butler County are increasing counseling, teaching students good decision-making tactics and educating them on the ins and outs of the legal system.
“I don't know that the old adage of 'just say no to drugs' is effective anymore,” Teff said.
Schools rely on in-school curriculum, mandated by the state, in health and science classes as well as outside programs to help with age-appropriate lessons starting in kindergarten.
Eric Ritzert, Karns City superintendent, said as the crisis has grown, education on opioids has increased in many of the district's programs.
At Butler, White said school administrators are reviewing programming this year. Butler and Karns City have participated in the Pennsylvania Youth Survey to guide their efforts in making changes.
The biennial survey is conducted by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and asks students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 to anonymously report their behavior, attitudes and knowledge about alcohol, tobacco, drugs and violence.
In the Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District the curriculum in health classes has not changed, although the number of assemblies has increased to target more students, said Superintendent David McDeavitt. They've also noticed needs in other areas, he said.
“The elementary school counselor has had an increase in students needing individual counseling due to incarcerated parents, overdoses and drug-related family and friend deaths,” McDeavitt said.
Since education on drugs begins early on, students are aware of the dangers of drug use. Schools also talk about making healthy choices as an alternative to using drugs and how the legal system impacts students both in and out of school.
“I bring almost all discussions in health class back around to the importance of decision making, thinking about what we stand for, thinking about what we value,” said Lisa Knappenberger, a Knoch High School health teacher. “I carry that theme into talks about drugs and alcohol.”
That's the mission of the countywide D.A.R.E program run by the sheriff's office: “teaching students good decision-making skills to help them lead safe and healthy lives.”
The D.A.R.E. program is in 70 fifth-grade classrooms in six public and seven private schools around the county. Sgt. Harry Callithen, who oversees the program, said about 1,500 students will graduate from the program this year.
Callithen and five others in the sheriff's office are certified to teach the D.A.R.E program, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. While the program is about drug prevention, they talk about a lot more than the health effects of drugs and alcohol, he said.
“It's more effective to talk about good decision making,” Callithen said.
The D.A.R.E program has 10 lessons geared toward good decision making for a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally, he said. They talk about what it means to be a responsible person, how to positively relieve stress, how to identify peer pressure and say no to friends, how to report bullying and how not to be a bystander.“It doesn't mean we're waving a magic wand over the school and making sure nobody will do drugs,” he said, but added they are giving children the tools to make good decisions and how to be good citizens.At Seneca Valley, good decision making gets tied in with the legal system. Students get intensive lessons about the legal impacts of their actions as well as about drugs and alcohol from the district's two school resource officers, who are also officers with Jackson Township Police Department.School resource officer Hunter Ryan teaches a weeklong lesson to eighth grade classes about the types of crimes that impact teenagers, from harassment and theft to disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.“I don't just tell them not to do stuff,” Ryan said. “That doesn't help a kid understand what a misdemeanor is, what a felony is and how easy it is to get suckered into something serious.”In seventh grade, school resource officer Jason Young talks about drugs and alcohol and the legal system using situations he's dealt with on the job.“I bring up real life examples that I've faced, arrests that I've made related to heroin and heroin usage,” Young said.“They're interested in the war stories, that helps get their attention. That gives a different dimension to it,” he said. “They have it. They can spit back the facts they learned in health class. But when I tell them, this is what happens with alcohol poisoning, heroin overdose … This is what I've seen. I think that definitely impacts them.”<em>Eagle staff writer Joe Genco contributed to this report.</em>
