Brick Schools Look Within To Help Send Anti-Drug Messages

In the battle to prevent teens from using and getting addicted to drugs and alcohol, schools and towns take many approaches.

The Brick Township School District is adding a new layer to its efforts, introducing the nationally acclaimed Lead & Seed Environmental Drug Prevention Program into the district’s middle schools.

Student leaders have been chosen at both Lake RIviera and Veterans Memorial middle schoos to be representatives of the Lead & Seed program.

According to Sgt. Henry Drew, spokesman for the Brick Township Police Department, the goal of Lead & Seed is to prevent and reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among teens. The Lead & Seed program differs from D.A.R.E., the program for elementary school students, in that it is youth-powered and peer-based: the student representatives are leading the initiative while working with teachers, administrators, and local police officers.

In recent weeks Lead & Seed students attended two intensive trainings in which they learned about substance abuse and created toolkit-based action plans to bring into their school community (the “lead” portion of the program). Armed with their toolkits and the support of school administrators and teachers, these leaders will implement their plans at their schools -- the ”seed” portion, Drew said.

“This allows for peer-to-peer influence on a grassroots level. We are very proud of the dedication of our student leaders!” Drew said.

Since 2005, Lead & Seed has been implemented in an estimated 200 schools in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. Approximately 20,000 youth and 5,000 adults have participated in the intervention, according to the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.