Copeland Middle School's eighth Grade Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program entitled "Project Positive Choice" was implemented into the school curriculum during the fall of 1998. The following presents a brief description of the program. A portrait of the school district and its' constituency has also been included to help convey the character of this small semi-rural community.

Copeland Middle School(CMS) is located adjacent to one of the many lakes in Rockaway Township. The municipality of Rockaway Township is approximately forty-six square miles. A large percentage of the forty-six square miles is rural yet a portion of the town is suburban in its make-up. Five elementary schools filter students into CMS each fall. This year Copeland had an enrollment of 958 students. Next year the school population will exceed 1080 students. There are 100 faculty and staff members, 37 support personnel and 3 administrators who have worked very hard through the course of the year to lead, encourage, and educate the large number of students to whom they are entrusted with. Presently CMS has several substance abuse programs implemented in the curriculum.

However, this description will refer only to the eighth grade prevention program.
The educational approach at Copeland is holistic in nature, as it consists of numerous programs and activities that address and attempt to meet the needs of the entire educational community. The overall objective of each of the programs is to help students develop a value structure that will enable them to make positive, healthy and wise choices for their lives.

The eighth grade alcohol and drug prevention program entitled "Project Positive Choice" began as a response to the twenty-two deaths that occurred in 1998 in Morris County due to heroin overdoses. Of those twenty-two, four were in Rockaway Township, and two of the four were teenagers that had recently attended Copeland Middle School. The problem was evident and urgent. Something needed to be done to equip, inform, prepare and educate our students about the devastating and crippling effects of alcohol and substance abuse. During the summer of 1998 a committee was established to begin planning a multifaceted, comprehensive, relevant program where the target audience would be CMS eighth graders. The program design called for a four-phased presentation. However, before the student portion was implemented, it was agreed that the stakeholder pool needed to be enlarged to provide a greater probability for success. The most significant stakeholders other than the children themselves are the teachers, faculty, staff and parents. Therefore, special workshops for the faculty and staff were arranged. A certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor led these training sessions. Three, four hour sessions were given on the signs, symptoms, habits, behavioral patterns, social conditions and factors that relate to substance use and abuse. These workshops proved to be extremely valuable as it began to raise awareness levels of teachers and staff. It sensitized them to the issues surrounding this societal concern.

In addition to the staff training, three parent evenings were hosted on various topics of drug awareness and education. Special advertising efforts were done to promote these evenings. The featured speakers stimulated thought, raised awareness levels, challenged belief systems, and provoked meaningful dialogue among parents. The parents and community members supported these evenings with good attendance and many have requested that we continue hosting these informative evenings.

As part of an attempt to reach the parents of our eighth-graders, a "Preparing for the Drug Free Years" session was presented. The program was an attempt to empower the parents of our children to reduce the risk that their children will develop substance abuse problems. The program is based on research conducted by Dr. David Hawkins and Dr. Richard Catalano of the University of Washington. Through an extensive review of over thirty years of research, they identified nineteen factors that increase young people's risk of developing substance abuse problems. They found that parents make a difference in whether their children get involved with drugs. The program was conducted by Dr. William Calathes of New Jersey City University, and was designed to teach parents the knowledge and skills needed to help reduce their children's risk for drug abuse.

The 1st phase is an effective and powerful introduction for the eighth graders.  Copeland Middle School hosted teen residents from Daytop Village. These young people are presently suffering from drug addiction and are on the road to recovery and restoration. The format of the program consisted of four Daytop residents speaking candidly and honestly to each of our twelve eighth grade classes about their own personal experiences and path to destruction due to drugs and alcohol. A counselor accompanied the residents from the treatment center. Following the presentation, the adults left the room, which lead to an open dialogue of questions and answers with our students and the Daytop residents.

In Phase II we intensified our efforts. We had the father of one of the boys who died due to an overdose come in and speak to each of twelve eighth grade classes on the drug habit and tragic death of his son. A very poignant, graphic and powerful video entitled "It Can't Happen to Me" was also presented to the students to augment the personal presentation of Mr. Elsmore. The most effective aspect of phase II is the follow-up part where Mr. Elsmore consistently visited our students during their lunch period. He established and built relationships with many of the students. Jack Elsmore served as a mentor to many of our students and we trust that his efforts will pay big dividends as these students enter high school in the fall.

In Phase III we introduced the student to "Project Pride".  Project P.R.I.D.E. is a major initiative of the New Jersey Department of Corrections. We believe that staff and offenders participating in project P.R.I.D.E. make a significant impact on the substance abuse prevention activities being conducted in New Jersey schools.

Project P.R.I.D.E. brings minimum custody offenders from a state correctional facility into Copeland Middle School to talk about their personal experiences with drugs and alcohol. A moderator will lead the candid discussion by the offenders while also providing additional information about the Department of Corrections and replying to questions from the audience. The offenders are at all times under the direct supervision of Senior Correction Officers while they are in the community.

The main purpose of PRIDE is for our youth to hear, first hand, the results that alcohol and drug abuse has on a person's life and consider these consequences when faced with making personal choices. The goal is to reduce the use of drugs and alcohol by the youth and promote responsible decision-making as they face choices in their lives.
 

Phase IV is the culminating phase of Project Positive Choice.  It is a full day of interacting with positive role models from all facets of life.  We invite celebrities to spend the day and speak with the students on how success is attained by making the right decisions throughout life.  The day starts by sharing breakfast with the celebrities, elected officials, corporate sponsors, municipal and county employees, teachers and school administrators along with the selected students.  From there we assemble with the either grade student body for a rally, then the students break out into classes where the speakers will meet them throughout the day discussing the positive choices that gave them success.  During lunch, the celebrities interact with the eighth grade in their social environment enhancing the bond that was formed during this special day.

The day ends when the students join forces with their teachers and challenge the celebrities in basketball games accompanied by cheering, positive feelings and great camaraderie.