Pubdate: Thu,18 Jan 2007
Source: Tri-Town News (NJ)
Copyright: 2007 Greater Media Newspapers
Contact:  http://tritown.gmnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4029
Author: Dave Benjamin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

'HEROES AND COOL KIDS' TEACHES PUPILS LIFE SKILLS

JACKSON - Students in the Jackson School District are  working hard to
resolve behavioral conflicts and to set  examples as positive role
models for fellow classmates.

In a Dec. 19 presentation to the Board of Education,  teacher-advisers
Melissa Pennell and Bea Gagliano  explained how the Heroes and Cool
Kids program works in  Jackson schools with students who are in grades
6-12.

"The Heroes and Cool Kids program is a cross-age peer  mentoring
program that picks up where the Drug Abuse  Resis-tance Education
(DARE) program leaves off,"  Pennell said. "Heroes and Cool Kids
focuses on the  development of important life skills such as making 
connections with positive role models, bullying  prevention, conflict
resolution and making positive  lifestyle choices by highlighting
drug, alcohol and  tobacco [abuse] prevention."

The program presently consists of 45 high school  students who
maintain good grades, are considered to be  positive role models and
exhibit good behavior in and  out of the classroom. The participating
students and  their parents sign a pledge which states that the young 
people will abstain from using drugs, alcohol and  tobacco wile
participating in the program.

According to the program's advisers, these students  show good
communication skills and display a desire to  participate in
communication skill training.

"What's great about this program is that it benefits  not only the
sixth-graders, but the high school  participants as well," Pennell
said. "The sixth-graders  receive bullying prevention tools, character
education,  they get a chance to meet positive role models and are 
more likely to participate in similar programs when  they attend high
school."

At the same time, the high school participants develop  and hone their
own leadership, mentoring and public  speaking skills, the adviser
said.

Pennell said the program consists of three district  training
conferences and visits that are scheduled  between November and May.
The trainers are current and  former professional athletes who train
the students  along with students from some of the 38 other high 
schools that participate, she said.

In a power point presentation, the advisers showed  training sessions
at Brookdale Community College,  Lincroft. The sessions were led by
Keith Elias, a  Princeton University graduate and former running back 
with the New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts.

The first conference trained students on public  speaking techniques
and how to be a positive role model  for younger students.

Other students trained with Bruce Harper, a former  running back with
the New York Jets, and Tim Bassett,  who played in the ABA and the NBA
and was a teammate of  Julius Erving with the Nets.

Tennis professional Kyle Copeland-Muse held a program  in a third
training room.

Other sessions cover activities for School Violence  Awareness Week
and making positive lifestyle choices.

"We really believe this program is making a positive  impact on our
students and sixth-graders who  participate and we are looking forward
to continuing  with this program in the years to come," Pennell told 
the board.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin