Pubdate: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) Copyright: 2007 The Cincinnati Enquirer Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html Website: http://enquirer.com/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86 Author: William Croyle Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) STUDENTS GETTING NO-DRUG MESSAGE Survey Finds Decline Over 7 Years Sixth-grade student Da'Quan Palmer knows the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. "When I was in fifth grade, teachers showed us some bad lungs," the 11-year-old Two Rivers Middle School student said with a disgusted look. "We learned a lot in fifth grade because they showed us a lot of nasty stuff," added his classmate, 12-year-old Karrie South. And apparently, they aren't the only two students in Covington Independent Schools who have been paying attention. From 1999 to 2006, the number of high school seniors in the district who reported using cigarettes, alcohol or marijuana dropped significantly, according to Covington Partners in Prevention, which each October surveys about 900 of the district's 4,000 students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades. The organization, a nonprofit coalition of educators, agencies, community members and faith group leaders, released the 2006 survey results Tuesday at a luncheon honoring those responsible for the improvements. Nearly 200 people, from business leaders to students, attended. According to the coalition, 85 percent of Covington students are at risk, 22 percent receive special education services and 12 percent live in public housing. "Our ultimate goal is to help kids in Covington do better," said Vicki Dansberry, the district's prevention coordinator. "The numbers are exactly what we wanted and planned for and expected from the hard work from everyone." The coalition also used the luncheon to introduce its 3-M program, which seeks materials, mentors and money from the community. While all three are equally important, the coalition made special note of the district's mentoring programs. "We know the mentoring does work," said Janice Wilkerson, founder and director of the coalition. "That's a key in preventing high-risk behavior." The district has several mentoring programs in all the schools that range from having lunch with students to taking them to cultural events. "We just need to keep doing what we're doing and keep bolstering our programs," said Wilkerson. And the district hopes those resources will continue to affect students the way they've affected Da'Quan and Karrie. "To me, drugs are a waste of time, because all you're doing is killing yourself," said Karrie. "I've seen people do that stuff," said Da'Quan, "and it just doesn't look very good." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek