One More Reason to Say No
By Matt Peer - Faculty
For the past two nights our ‘local’ families have had the opportunity to listen to a presentation sponsored by Darlington's Prevention Planning Committee. During the presentation, families heard from Headmaster Tom Whitworth, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Jere Drummond, the President of SPEC Group Inc., Hila Prather, as well as members of the Prevention Planning Committee (PPC).
The PPC, which is comprised of teachers, administrators, parents, alumni, and board members, has worked diligently over the course of the last two years to create a Substance Abuse Policy as well as an education program designed to help young people make informed and responsible decisions, not only in regards to illegal drugs and alcohol, but also one that focuses on other areas where young people must make difficult choices. Parents who attended these meetings heard about this curriculum as well as the details of the preventative drug testing program, which the school will implement during the 2013-2014 school year.
In the coming days we will post the details of this policy on our website. However, I wanted to share with you my portion of the presentation, which focuses on the steps we have taken to help our students learn how to handle the difficult decisions that may arise during their teenage years.
I have young kids. My wife and I used outlet covers, baby gates and monitors to keep them safe, protect them, and watch out for their well being when they were infants. Now that they are a little older we still use these things as a security measure, but we also do things like hold their hand as they cross the street, warn them every time they go near a hot pan on the stove, and constantly talk with them about strangers whenever we go out in public. We are ALWAYS there watching them, ready to step in to help and support them, and most importantly to keep them safe. Today I brought Jackson, our six-year-old son to school early for “breakfast club”. When I dropped him off at the Thornwood campus, I got out of the car to take him to Rachel Harrison’s classroom. As we got to the sidewalk, he looked at me and said, “I can do this on my own. I don’t need help”. I let him walk the 50 feet to her room, but I stood there waiting and watching for him to either succeed or fail, all the while ready to step up and help as soon as he needed it.
As Jackson and Ella get older I know that they will ask us to stop protecting them. What I don’t know is whether Jess and I will be able to let go of all our safety nets and precautions and have them experience life for themselves. As parents I want to know that we have done everything we can to help them learn and understand the dangers that are in the world today. As Darlington parents, I also want to know that the school has done everything that it can to help teach and train them.
As the Director of Student Life and a member of the Prevention Planning Committee, I am excited about the programs we have planned for our Upper School community this year. On the first day of school, we talked with students about honor, trust, team building, and new school policies. We used this first day as a way to help all of our students, both new and returning, have a common understanding of Darlington’s mission statement “Learn with Passion, Act With Integrity, and Serve with Respect”.
This year as part of our commitment to educate our community, we have added a specialized ninth-grade advisory program. This is a new, hands-on program for freshmen led by Student Life, Counseling, Teaching and Learning Center, Library Services, Information Technology, and Physical Education. As part of our ninth-grade orientation program, we added a “retreat” for our freshmen. During this day-long experience, our newest high school students learned about Wisdom, Service, Honor, the history of the school. They also participated in team building activities. We hope that this year-long program will help lay the foundation for a successful high school career and help build a trusting relationship between our students and faculty members.
As part of our education program, we are excited to welcome outside speakers to present to our community as well. This fall author and attorney J. Tom Morgan spoke to our students about the importance of understanding how the laws in the State of Georgia affect teenagers. During the presentation, he discussed his book Ignorance Is No Defense, which we will be using throughout the year as a guide for conversations during our afternoon advisee meetings. We also had the privilege of hearing from Mr. and Mrs. Burnett, whose 16-year-old son died last year after experimenting with synthetic marijuana. The theme of their presentation, “If you don’t think it could happen to you,” resonated with our students and set the stage for our student presentations during Red Ribbon Week.
This winter we are excited to welcome the Steer Smart Program to our campus. This program focuses on decisions that students make in cars by using testimony from students whose lives have been altered by unsafe actions while in vehicles. The presentation will discuss speeding, texting, weather, too many passengers, drugs, alcohol, seat belts, and the potential for negative consequences associated with these actions and behaviors while driving. Our community will also hear from Dr. Nadia Meyers, an addictive behavioral specialist at Floyd Medical Center.
The Prevention Planning Committee, Darlington’s administrators and faculty, and its Board of Trustees feel strongly that instituting a preventative drug testing program is another way we can help give our students one more reason to say no to the use of illegal drugs and the abuse of prescription medication. We know that we cannot be there to help our children with every decision that they must make in their lives, just like I cannot walk Jackson to his classroom every day and keep a watchful eye on him. We want to partner with you to ensure that we as a school are doing everything within our power to help your sons and daughters have successful and enjoyable teenage years by stressing the importance of making safe and informed decisions.
If you have questions about Darlington’s Substance Abuse Policy and the implementation of our preventative drug testing program, please do not hesitate to contact me.
