Schools
Jacobsville Elementary Participates in ‘Keep a Clear Mind’
Keep a Clear Mind is a county wide initiative used to educate students about drug and alcohol use.
Encouraging elementary-school children to avoid so-called gateway drugs is the goal of a program currently going on at Jacobsville Elementary School.
The program is called "Keep a Clear Mind" and it's being conducted in the fourth through sixth grades throughout the Anne Arundel County school system. But the key to this anti-drug program is that the majority of it occurs at home, not in school.
“The program gets parents and students talking about drugs and alcohol and all the possible effects,” said Jacobsville Elementary fifth-grade teacher Christina Dixon.
Find out what's happening in Anne Arundelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The program, which runs from Jan. 31 to Feb. 25, consists of four weekly lessons on alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, and suggests ways for kids to avoid drug use. Each week, students take home a colorful pamphlet that the children review with their parents.
The activities in the pamphlets include answering a simple question about drugs, listing reasons not to use specific drugs, writing "No" statements to resist social pressure to use drugs, selecting from a list of alternatives the best ways to refuse and avoid drugs, and completing contracts to refuse and avoid drugs, according to the school system.
Find out what's happening in Anne Arundelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“After reviewing each packet with their parents, the students come-up with a phrase they will use if someone ever asks them to use drugs or alcohol,” said Dixon.
Students who bring the singed and completed pamphlets back to school receive a prize, which is provided by the county.
“The program is not just about educating the students, it is also about getting the parents involved and educated on these issues,” said Dixon. “We don’t really teach it in class, it is more of a parent and child relationship.”
Students must get signed permission to participate in the program. This year, Anne Arundel County has 42 elementary schools participating in the program, according to Eileen Marion, a Health and Education Consultant for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
Students who participate in the program take a before and after test to measure their knowledge of the program's topics.
“When they take the final test they know more of the information and don’t ask as many questions about it,” Dixon said. “They really know a lot more about the topics than they did before they started.”
