D.A.R.E out; 'Too good'in

County students Asia Wilson (B.D. Lee Elementary), Jonathan Brum (Blacksburg Elementary), Haley Thomas (Draytonville Elementary) and Shelby Helms (Goucher Elementary) were the winners of a "Too Good For Drugs" contest. The Cherokee County School District joined a growing list of school districts in June by discontinuing its D.A.R.E. drug prevention program.

The district has permanently switched to the "Too Good for Drugs" prevention program developed by the nonprofit Mendez Foundation in Tampa, Fla. It is a schoolbased prevention program designed to reduce risk factors for students to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Lt. Tim Hartman had taught the D.A.R.E. prevention program in county elementary schools since the early 1990s. For the past two years, the district had received a waiver from the state to continue teaching D.A.R.E.

The district was forced to find another drug education program this spring, said Kathy Phillips, coordinator of the district's Safe and Drug Free programs.

"The state wants school districts to use a drug prevention program based on sciengoes tific research," Phillips said. "We asked our instructor Tim Hartman to look at different curriculums and make a recommendation to us about a new drug education program. We are very pleased with the 'Too Good for Drugs' curriculum and look forward to teaching it in our elementary schools this year."

The district has received a $34,000 federal grant for Safe and Drug Free education programs. In September, Phillips said the district plans to give an online survey to eighth and eleventh grade students to get more information on the effectiveness of local drug education programs.

Too Good for Drugs is a goal-oriented program where students become aware of how gateway drugs, such as tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, can lead to experimenting with harder drugs.

"This new curriculum still goes along with the theme of resistance of drugs and violence," Hartman said. "It still back to making good decisions and surrounding yourself with good friends."

Aerosol cans are an example of inhalants that have become a recent trend with middle school students.

Hartman is particularly concerned about the availability of prescription drugs such as Loratab and Xanax in the homes of school-age children.

"A lot of parents keep prescription drugs in medicine cabinets where they can be reached by children," Hartman said. "These prescriptions are written specifically for a specific person's medical needs and can cause problems if taken by children whose bodies aren't fully developed."

The Too Good For Drugs curriculum will be taught in county elementary schools year-round, Hartman said. The drug education program is organized so students can build their knowledge and decision-making skills each year.