Cherokee Bend students Ellie Kate Berte, Nelson Crawford, Jake Thompson and Richard Brock welcome Bobby Humphrey, a former All-American player for the University of Alabama, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins, as special guest to kick off Red Ribbon Week last year.
Mountain Brook will join schools across the country to celebrate National Red Ribbon Week during the week of Oct. 23-31.
“We have a long tradition of observing Red Ribbon Week,” said Dale Wisely, director of student services and community education at Mountain Brook City Schools. “We often refer to it as Alcohol and Drug Awareness Week to put even more emphasis on what it is really about for us.”
The National Family Partnership established the campaign in 1985 in order to spread awareness of the dangers of teen drug use. An Ohio seventh grader developed the logo for this year’s national campaign theme: “A Healthy Me is Drug Free.”
Due to scheduling issues, Mountain Brook City Schools plans to observe the campaign during the week of Oct. 14. Wisely said programs throughout the school district will be tailored to age and grade level, with the younger students learning about general health issues and the older students learning about dangerous effects of drug abuse.
“Red Ribbon Week tends to be a bit more festive at the elementary level, and our drug education efforts there are often about health and healthy choices,” Wisely said. “Older students get more specific content about the problems associated with the use and abuse of different substances.”
Wisely said the school district believes drug awareness should not be contained to one week and a main goal is to incorporate drug education into the classroom throughout the year.
“While we do want to observe the week with a special concentration of substance abuse prevention, we think it is important not to fall into the habit of concentrating all our work in this area into a single week,” Wisely said. “We do various educational and awareness programs related to substance abuse all year long.”
Classroom education is valuable, but a community support system is vital for students and their education. Wisely believes drug awareness programs should extend outside the classroom in order to be effective and prevent tragedy.
“There is evidence that the best shot a community has at stemming substance among youth is by maintaining a steady, persistent and community-wide effort,” Wisely said. “School-based programs probably are not enough.”
Accordingly, the Mountain Brook Anti-Drug Coalition was formed to advise parents on how to best educate their children on the dangers of drug use. The coalition has several community programs such as Safe Homes, a pledge made by community parents to not permit underage drinking or drug use in their homes.
“We have had an active anti-drug coalition for many years,” Wisely said. “The work of the Mountain Brook Anti-Drug Coalition has tended to be focused on schools, but over the years we have supported and encouraged programs in local worship communities.”
Lindsey Sink, co-chair of the Mountain Brook Drug Coalition, said the coalition will be holding a community public forum called Hitting Home, a platform for both older and younger parents to discuss what they can do to better address the drug problem in Mountain Brook.
“My husband and I really get a lot from it because we didn’t have this kind of education growing up,” Sink said. “All the data and statistics really did hit home for us.”
Local government and law enforcement are making a concerted effort to partner with the schools on drug awareness education for the upcoming school year. Sink said the Mountain Brooke Fire Department is preparing a program for the students on drinking and driving.
“The Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce is taking more of a role,” Wisely said. “We had a meeting this summer with our fire department and police department, all of whom have and will continue to support the community’s efforts in this area.”
For more information on National Red Ribbon Week visit redribbon.org. For more information on the Mountain Brook Anti Drug Coalition, visit sites.google.com/site/coalition1site/.
