Press Release

Making a Difference in Kid’s Lives.

Mark Flatau

Certainly the most important purpose of the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District is having a clear focus on student learning and improving the achievement levels of our student. We devote the bulk of our time and resources to this purpose.

With that said there are also many other very important issues that we must also focus on. One of these areas deals with educating and empowering our youth with positive decision making skills in order to make wise choices when it comes to tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. We would hope that these decision making skills are being modeled and taught in our homes as well and we know that in many situations they are. We also deal with the sad reality that in some homes this does not happen.

One very exciting educational opportunity that we began last year in our middle school and have expanded it this year is the introduction of our LifeSkills Curriculum. This program is a researched-validated substance abuse prevention program proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance use and other risky behavior.

This year we have it being taught in 6^th – 8^th grades and plan on expanding it to other grades in the future. Rather than merely teaching information about the dangers of drug abuse, LifeSkills Training promotes healthy alternatives to risky behavior through activities designed to teach these necessary skills. Research has proven that students who participate in the LifeSkills prevention program during junior high/middle school reported less use of illicit drugs then control groups. This same research supported the belief that illicit drug use can be prevented by targeting the use of gateway drugs such as tobacco and alcohol.

For the past two years our district has collaborated with county agencies and programs such as Kittitas County Community Network, in order to create a safety net that we are hopeful will catch kids before they reach dangerous patterns of behavior and addiction. Through these efforts we have planned many activities for students, parents, and community members that support these efforts such as last years “Community Café.” We are grateful for this support and collaboration with our county partners and it is because of these efforts that programs such as this can be offered to our students.

Leading prevention experts and educators worldwide have put the LifeSkills Training prevention approach and curricula to the test. In fact, because it has been selected for the highest honors by more governmental agencies then other prevention programs; LifeSkills is in the distinct position of being the top-researched based prevention program in the country. We are happy to be able to offer it to our students as part of our comprehensive prevention and intervention program.

Feel free to contact our Cle Elum-Roslyn Middle School or the Community Network if you would like to review the Life Skills curriculum. Mark Flatau is the Superintendent of Cle Elum-Roslyn School District.

LifeSkills will also be taught to middle school students in Thorp, Kittitas, and Easton schools during the current school year. Kittitas County Community Network/Drug Free Communities Coalition and the Community Network agency, through a federal Drug Free Communities grant, are implementing the “Start Talking Before They Start Drinking” campaign as a community service for parents. For more information on the campaign, go to www.kccn-dfc.com.