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BAY MILLS - The Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter School is implementing the program "Too Good for Drugs" in the seventh and eighth grades. The course, which began on March 13, will take approximately 10 weeks, and will end in May. It is a model program approved by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The school-based prevention program, which is part of a three-year, $270,000 "Safe and Drug Free Communities National Program" grant the school received back in August of 2005, is designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among students. According to OCS Counselor Audrey Breakie, the youth involved with the program will gain a variety of skills that will help them through their high school years, including the ability to make healthy decisions and develop their communication skills. Goal setting is another key skill that will be continuously addressed with the program, she added.
"Too Good for Drugs offers a plan for our youth to continue to stay on an educational course and develop skills that will see them through their high school years," Breakie said. "This program is another stepping stone to offer our youth and to show that we [faculty and staff at OCS] are committed to providing the best possible education for our community."
Breakie said that there are certain measures installed to evaluate the effectiveness of this program, which will include a Community Needs Assessment. The assessment will be conducted during the month of June, with the results of all evaluations published in the Bay Mills News. Breakie added that in addition to the "Too Good for Drugs" program, OCS would also be implementing the "Reconnecting Youth" program, for the ninth through 11th grades, during the 2006-2007 school year.
However, like any good prevention program, Breakie said the "Too Good for Drugs" is more effective when family and community show their support. Because of this fact, Breakie said she urges all parents to come out and support the children in the program.
"Please come and support your children and your school," Breakie said. "To implement a successful program anywhere requires family and community participation. Studies suggest that these prevention programs become that much more effective when families and communities participate in them."
For more information on the "Too Good for Drugs" or "Reconnecting Youth" programs, contact Audrey Breakie at the Ojibwe Charter School at (906) 248-2530.
