Pubdate: Fri, 20 Oct 2006
Source: Martinsville Bulletin (VA)
Copyright: 2006 Martinsville Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2003
Author: Kathrin Klenshteyn, Bulletin, Staff Writer

NATIONAL GUARD HELPS STUDENTS 'STAY ON TRACK'

With a Blackhawk helicopter, Humvees and a race car on  school 
grounds, it is not hard to get students'  attention.

And once the National Guard officers had the  Fieldale-Collinsville 
Middle School students' attention  Thursday, they launched an 
anti-drug program called  "Stay on Track."

The kickoff at the middle school was the first in  Virginia, said 
Chief Warrant Officer Thomas French, one  of the program's 
organizers, because that school was  the first to work out scheduling 
and other details.

The program is sponsored by the National Guard Bureau,  based in 
Washington, D.C.

Stay on Track is a 12-lesson program that combines drug  use 
prevention with the appeal of motorsports to combat  peer pressure in 
middle schools, said Sgt. Kenneth  Muse, who teaches the program at 
Fieldale-Collinsville  and Laurel Park middle schools.

After speaking to students in the school's gym, the  officers led the 
students outside to have pictures  taken in front the National Guard 
race car, some Army  Humvee vehicles and the highlight of the day, a 
Blackhawk helicopter. Cup or Busch car? what number?

"Cool," "awesome" and "interesting" were some of the  adjectives 
students used over and over again when asked  what they thought of 
the program and its kickoff.

Sixth-grader Tyler Byrd, son of Charles and Sarah Byrd,  said the 
program "gives you courage to say aEno.'"

Stay on Track is tied to motorsports because just as a  car must be 
kept in good condition to run well, so must  a body be taken care of 
to stay in good health, Muse  said.

"It takes a team to win a race," he said. The pit crew,  crew chief 
and driver must communicate effectively.

In the "Stay on Track" program, students are compared  to drivers. 
Muse is the crew chief, and the physical  education teachers who 
participate in the program are  the spotters who tell the driver 
where he or she is on  the track in relation to other cars.

That is why parents have an important role in "Stay on  Track," said French.

According to Muse, the program's homework requires  students to talk 
to their parents to answer some of the  questions, opening a line of 
communication.

French said this communication is positive, as opposed  to the 
commonly negative communication that happens  after a parent notices 
his or her child might be using  drugs or alcohol.

"It gives the parent the opportunity to talk to their  children about 
difficult decisions," such as giving in  to peer pressure to take 
drugs, he said.

In addition, the program focuses on effective  strategies for 
teamwork, keeping the body healthy,  learning to cope with stressful 
situations, being able  to make split-second decisions and setting 
and achieving goals, National Guard literature states.

Speaking to the crowd of students in the school's gym,  Muse said 
there are two kinds of pressure: positive and  negative.

The people in the students' lives that give them  positive pressure, 
such as to complete their homework,  do so because "they want you to 
succeed," he said.

"They know how hard life is outside of these walls," he  said. 
"Freedom isn't free. We believe that all of you  are the future."

He also told the students if they could handle the  positive stress 
in their lives, they also can handle  the negative, such as peer 
pressure to make poor  decisions.

Sixth-grade English and social studies teacher Kathy  Thacker said 
that if one student was encouraged to stay  off drugs, the program 
was effective.

"Anything to motivate any of these students is  worthwhile," she said.

French said the program aims to give students the  self-confidence 
they need not to give in to peer  pressure. He said instructors tell 
students that peers  who would pressure them to make certain 
decisions are  "not who you want to fit in with."

Lt. Col. Colleen Chipper, Virginia National Guard  counter-drug 
coordinator, said 11 states in the country  are participating in the 
pilot program, which is set to  be fully functional next year.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine