Pubdate: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 Source: Virgin Islands Daily News, The (VI) Copyright: 2004 Virgin Islands Daily News Contact: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3486 Author: Tanya Mannes V.I. RECEIVES $1 MILLION GRANT FOR DRUG, VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS The V.I. Education Department has received a $1 million grant from the federal government to implement new drug and violence prevention programs at selected public and private schools, Education Commissioner Noreen Michael has announced. "Actions aimed at reducing incidences of violence and drug use among our school-aged population should not solely be reactive," Michael said in a statement released Monday. "We must determine why students engage in these activities and address the root causes." This grant falls under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of No Child Left Behind. The Education Department and the Human Services Department began work last year to address drug and safety problems among students and to evaluate existing programs in the first year of this two-year grant. The territory is expected to be eligible for two more grant cycles, a total of six years, according to Michael. Students will participate in programs that have been designed for their age and grade level. Children in kindergarten will participate in a safety education program, "Talking about Touching," and children in grades 1 through 6 will be trained in the nationally recognized conflict-resolution program Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies, or PATHS. In the Life Skills program, students in middle and high school will learn about violence prevention and the dangers of drug use - particularly of the "gateway drugs" marijuana and alcohol - and will receive training in resisting peer pressure. "Children in elementary school have very different drug and safety issues from those experienced by middle- and high school-aged students," Michael said. Teachers in the St. Thomas-St. John District were trained in September for the PATHS and Life Skills programs. The St. Croix training for teachers was canceled because of inclement weather and will be rescheduled, according to Virginia Dargan, a spokeswoman for the Education Department. Schools currently implementing the programs are: Joseph Sibilly Elementary, Peace Corps, Julius Sprauve and Seventh-day Adventist schools; Bertha Boschulte Middle School; and Charlotte Amalie and Ivanna Eudora Kean high schools, according to Dargan. The Edith Williams Alternative Academy also will offer the program. Both PATHS and Life Skills will include training for parents to support their children's school learning. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin