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Brocton parents protest CASAC program

BROCTON — A proposed drug and alcohol awareness program is upsetting some local parents.

According to Brocton Central School Superintendent Jason Delcamp, there is a lot of false information surrounding the school’s partnership with Chautauqua Alcohol & Substance Abuse Council (CASAC) — so much so that several parents attended the recent school board meeting to voice their concerns. “I was taken aback by the fact that there are parents who don’t want their children to learn from this program,” Delcamp told the OBSERVER.

Brocton is one of 18 school districts to partner with CASAC to participate in the evidence-based alcohol and other drug prevention programming for students in grades K-12. Although the district has incorporated the program in the middle/high school before, this is the first year that the program is being introduced in grades K-5. “George Borrello, our county executive, has been very supportive of the program and has been encouraging school districts to do more than just the minimum,” Delcamp explained. “Other districts in the county include it in all grade levels — for instance, Chautauqua Lake has been doing that for three years.”

Recent controversy on social media alerted Delcamp to parents’ concerns about the program’s introduction in the elementary grades. “There was one Facebook post about how students would be reporting their parents to CPS (child protective services) and that this would bring a whole group of customers to St. Stephen’s downtown,” Delcamp said.

Delcamp made clear that there is no affiliation between the school and St. Stephen’s Hotel, which was purchased earlier this year by Breathe Life of WNY, a non-profit, Christ-based ministry that supports recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Although members of Breathe Life receive training from CASAC, the independent organization is not involved with the school district.

In an effort to clarify the program’s objectives and defuse the tension, the district published multiple Facebook posts on the day of the board meeting with information about CASAC. In the first post, the district shared a statement from CASAC:

“We understand that there is a misconception in the community on what we do. CASAC is not a counseling facility, nor are we treatment or recovery. What we do provide is prevention education and awareness…Our Prevention Educators focus more on topics geared towards improving one’s self esteem, decision making, conflict resolution, coping with anxiety, communication skills and social skills…”

Delcamp explained at the meeting that not only is the district trying to prevent the opioid epidemic, but it is also meeting state education standards. “New York State requires us to teach drug and alcohol, as well as mental health awareness. The CASAC programming is relatively inexpensive to implement, and it meets these state standards,” he explained.

In particular, the “Too Good for Drugs” curriculum, which starts in kindergarten, meets all the New York State Health Standards and Performance Indicators for each grade level. In kindergarten, lessons include personal health and fitness, a safe and healthy environment and differentiating between substances that are harmful to eat and drink and those that are safe to consume. Grade 2 lessons include goal-setting, dealing with frustration and “saying how you feel.” In grade 4, the lessons include decision making, bonding and relationships and peer pressure refusal. By the time students are in grade 6, they are learning more about the effects of alcohol, tobacco use, inhalants and marijuana, as well as life skills lessons such as identifying and managing emotions and understanding consequences.

Some parents’ objections to the program arose from fears that students were too young for such content. One parent said that just because another student is familiar with what the anti-opioid Narcan is and how it works does not mean their children need to know about it. Delcamp pointed out that students talk to each other and that it is best if information comes from professionals, not other students or even other adults. “We can’t be experts on everything,” Delcamp explained. “But we want our students to have the best resources, and CASAC teachers are very well-qualified.”

Others questioned whether or not classroom time should be used to incorporate the program and wondered if it was taking away from other subjects. According to Delcamp, not only does the state require such curriculum, but “this is an integrative program and should be seen as a new program that we’re talking about. The lessons involve reading for meaning, group work and there’s also math and science involved.”

Melanie Witkowski, a representative from CASAC, was in attendance at the meeting and shared the tenets of the program with parents. She offered parents her contact information and even invited them to meet with her for coffee to discuss their concerns.

Delcamp clarified that the implementation of the CASAC program was not up for a vote. Some parents questioned whether or not the program (in the early grades) should be optional or not, just as parents can choose to have their children opt out of the reproduction education program, Project KNOW. Delcamp informed parents that he would have to contact the state education department about this, since it is state-mandated curriculum. “Education is more than just math or English,” Delcamp explained. “Our job is to educate the whole child and that includes mental health issues and substance abuse. Each year, we want to build on what was taught the year before, and we are going to continue to do that.” Delcamp invites parents and school district residents to contact him with any questions or concerns.

In other business, the board discussed options for a school resource officer (SRO). Delcamp presented multiple options including a school safety advisor, which Fredonia Central School recently hired. Delcamp agreed to contact the Sheriff’s Office and inquire about a prorated contract for the remainder of the school year.

The board is hosting a capital project presentation today at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. District residents are encouraged to attend the meeting and vote on the two-part capital project on Tuesday, Oct. 30 from noon to 8 p.m. in the high school gymnasium foyer. The next scheduled meeting of the board of education is Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in Board Conference Room 189.

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