Youth counterdrug campaign reaches first milestone in state

By NCPRS Staff

Date: May 13, 2010
By Spc. Alyson Berzinski
112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Fifty-three 8th-grade students at Pittsville Middle School raced go-karts and explored a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, in the Wisconsin National Guard Drug Control Program's first Stay on Track graduation ceremony Wednesday (May 12).

The Stay on Track curriculum is one program that the Wisconsin National Guard offers for youth in fifth through ninth grades that provides healthy alternatives to drugs and alcohol, according to Maj. Jon Russell, executive officer for the Wisconsin Counter Drug Program. Designed for use in sixth through eighth grade classrooms, Stay on Track combines research-based information on substance abuse and prevention with the appeal of motor sports.

Lessons in the Stay on Track curriculum cover topics such as health, decision making, goal setting, communication skills, interpersonal relations and media influences. The program focuses on alcohol, tobacco, club drugs, hallucinogens, marijuana, inhalants and prescription drugs. The curriculum also emphasizes three specific areas of individual development - cognitive, social and emotional.

"When you have the committed partnership of the community, school district, teachers, and National Guard, it demonstrates the dedication and drive to keep our youth drug-free," Russell said.

The facilitators of the Stay on Track program - Sgt. 1st Class Brian Kelly, Warrant Officer Candidate Jamie Bender, Staff Sgt.Franklin Barlow, and Technical Sgt. Eric Dunford have dedicated two days every other week since October 2009 to the Stay on Track program in Pittsville.

"To say that they believe in this mission wholeheartedly is an understatement," Russell said in his speech to the graduation class.

Since 1995, the Wisconsin National Guard Drug Control Program has provided drug education and prevention programs for more than 145,000 youth, he added.

"This program makes the students aware that the decisions they make will affect their future, and whether it's positive or negative is up to them," Kelly said.

"Throughout the program students are given projects and take-home assignments," Barlow said. "These projects and assignments are used as a tool to promote communication between youth and their parents and other trustworthy adults."

The National Guard Counterdrug Program launched the Stay on Track program in 11 states in the 2006-2007 school year. The program proved highly successful and expanded to 41 states and territories the following school year. During 2008-2009, the program was implemented in 48 states and territories. The Wisconsin National Guard joined the effort in the 2009-2010 school year.

The Stay on Track program is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and funded by the National Guard Bureau.

Technical Sgt. Eric Dunford, a Wisconsin Air National Guard Stay on Track facilitator, runs the starting point of a go-kart race at Pittsville Middle School for the 53 8th-grade students graduating from Stay on Track. This was Wisconsin's first Stay on Track graduation. Stay on Track offers an innovative, fun and comprehensive approach to substance abuse prevention. 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment photo by Spc. Alyson Berzinski

The Stay on Track National Guard facilitators gather with their graduating students at Wisconsin's first Stay on Track Graduation in Pittsville. The Wisconsin National Guard Drug Control Program graduated 53 8th-grade students from Pittsville Middle School. Stay on Track offers an innovative, fun and comprehensive approach to substance abuse prevention. 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment photo by Spc. Alyson Berzinski