Do something.
That’s the rallying cry of the Brown County community against drug use after a rash of recent fatal overdoses.
On Sept. 18, Brown County Schools received a $10,000 grant from AT&T to help purchase LifeSkills, a substance abuse prevention program that will be used first at the high school in an effort to stop the epidemic.
“We know we need to be introducing our boys and girls to this really even before that,” Superintendent Laura Hammack said.
The program also can be used with students as young as third grade, and additional funding is being gathered to extend its reach.
AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards attended the Brown County Drug Free Coalition meeting Sept. 18 to hand over the grant check.
“This grant is coming at a time when our community is really in a phase of mourning,” Hammack said. “We have lost two graduates of Brown County High School recently to this epidemic. It’s been heartbreaking for our community.”
Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, also attended. “I don’t have to tell you that this is a crisis. Our opioid epidemic, our heroin epidemic has risen to the level of crisis where it’s not just an education issue; it’s now become a workforce issue,” he said.
“We have employers telling us all the time that this is their No. 1 workforce issue. What you’re doing here through this task force and attacking this problem at the educational level has very long-term ramifications for our state.”
Facing choices
Hammack said Brown County Schools was drawn to the curriculum because of how effective it is.
She said it’s one of the few programs that shows changes in behavior after students participate.
“It’s not just educating boys and girls — though it does — on drugs and their impact on you and your body. It is intentionally teaching strategies for students to be able to be assertive in social situations, to be able to have the words to be able to navigate those difficult situations where they may be faced with a choice,” she said.
Students in Grades 9 and 10 will learn about the value of good health; decision-making for health; risk-taking and substance abuse; the media and health; managing stress, anger and other emotions; family communications; and healthy relationships.
Students in Grades 11 and 12 will learn about goal setting for success; effective communication; managing stress; decision making and risk; managing time and money; and building relationships.
LifeSkills lessons will be given during the high school’s 20-minute-long advisory period each day.
Students will get their own workbooks and will have access to a companion website. So far, $8,500 of the $10,000 grant has been used for printed materials for high school students and teachers.
Some of the remaining money likely will be used to buy materials for junior high students, said Al Kosinski, director of student services for the district.
The Brown County Rotary Club also pledged $2,500 to add the curriculum at lower grade levels.
“We’re really well on our way. We’re at a point where we’re going to have it,” he said.
He said the plan is to have the curriculum implemented in Grades 3 through 12 by the second semester.
So far this school year, there have been no cases of suspensions or expulsions related to drugs or alcohol among Brown County Schools students, Kosinski said.
Away from addiction
The school district has a team that meets four times a year to discuss policies related to school food, health, nutrition, counseling, guidance and mental health.
This year, the team has an intern from AmeriCorps, Jake Heyerdahl, and his first task will be to help the school corporation implement the LifeSkills curriculum. He and school counselors will then train teachers.
Heyerdahl’s background is in neuroscience, and he has studied how opioids, like heroin, affect the body.
“It’s insanely addictive because the length of period between injection and high is minutes,” he said. “It’s so quick and it’s so powerful that there’s nothing else in the world like it as far as addictive qualities.”
Students won’t see Heyerdahl in the classroom; he will be in the administrative building 30 to 35 hours a week helping to set up the LifeSkills curriculum and train teachers to provide the direct service.
“Direct service is important, but creating an environment where the direct service can happen more effectively actually creates less poverty in a community in the long term,” Heyerdahl said.
“If we can keep them away from addiction, then they will be in school longer, they will be able to focus better, they will be able to graduate and go on to college. That will alleviate poverty through education.”
Kosinski said this curriculum goes hand-in-hand with the Regional Opportunity Initiative the school corporation has taken on to ensure each student has a path to follow after graduation — whether it be obtaining a certificate, going to college or entering the workforce.
“All of these employers say to us, ‘They can’t be taking drugs.’ Everybody gets screened now. Everybody. There is no employment anymore without taking a test,” Kosinski said.
“The importance of our kids being able to come through school and be clean on a drug test is really important to their future employment, and probably college admission, too.”
