Drug Education

A lawmaker's plan for mandatory drug education in public schools is receiving a lukewarm reception from several area school officials. The bill, introduced in the state Senate last week by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf (R., Montgomery), calls for between 30 and 120 hours of drug education to be taught each year in kindergarten through 12th grades. "I find that kind of ridiculous," said Francis P. Romano, assistant superintendent of the Springfield School District. "I think the current mandates are reasonable.

The exchange between Sens. Alphonse D'Amato (R., N.Y.) and Lawton Chiles (D., Fla.) on the one side, and John Walters, assistant to the secretary of education, representing the administration on the other, got headline treatment because of the racy exchange. It should have gotten headline treatment for its abundant demonstration of the major economic superstition we live by. The issue was the President's recommended budget for dope resistance - in particular, narcotics education.

I look at Magic Johnson and Buck Williams warning the kids against experimenting with drugs, and I want to tell them to save their million-dollar breath. The kids know at least as much as these All-Star basketball pros know about the dangers of drugs. They know about Len Bias and Don Rodgers, both promising professional athletes and both dead of cocaine overdoses. They know of the John Lucases and Micheal Ray Richardsons and a quarter of the Houston Rockets basketball team, all struggling to overcome drug habits.

The state's top prosecutor and a key senator proposed legislation yesterday to mandate anti-drug education starting in kindergarten, but the measure seemed short on specifics. The bill, which would require 30 to 120 hours of classroom instruction per year, does not stop at alcohol and drug abuse but also seeks to teach "law- abiding behavior" and develop "attitudes . . . consistent with a healthy lifestyle. " The measure, dubbed the Preate-Greenleaf bill for Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr. and Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf (R., Montgomery)

With the red and blue lights flashing, Tredyffrin Police Officers Frank Pitts and Andy Chambers were handcuffing a suspect apprehended on Old Lancaster Road in Berwyn. The female suspect had been stopped for a routine traffic violation, and drugs were found in her car. Passing motorists slowed to watch what was happening, some staring in apparent disbelief. For 15-year-old Angela Rutledge, the pleasant summer evening turned into a nightmare as she was led into police headquarters to be fingerprinted.

DEAR ABBY: When I was a young teen, my mother gave me a copy of your booklet "What Every Teen Should Know. " She left it on my bed for me to read at my own pace, and let me know that I could come to her if I had any questions, when I was ready to ask them. For years that booklet served as a reference guide for me. I also lent it to many of my friends whose parents were not so forthcoming with this important information. Being informed and not believing urban myths made a big difference in our decisions - and we're all doing well now. A decade later, I often work with teens who have received no comprehensive education about sex, drugs or the impact of decisions they make during adolescence.

At its meeting Monday, the Lower Merion school board got an early look at the district's plans for drug education programs for some students this fall. The program, "Here's Looking At You 2000," will be introduced to students in grades three, four, six and seven in Lower Merion Township schools later this month. Eighteen elementary and middle school teachers attended day-long training sessions before classes began to prepare for teaching the program, which is intended to educate children about the dangers of drugs.

For the Neshaminy School District, a proposed parents' program couldn't come at a better time. Parents have been pushing for more drug education since the death last month of 15-year-old Michael Filippo from inhaling butane lighter fluid, said Bob Wilson, program director of the Neshaminy Educational Support Team. He said the parents' program, which was planned before Filippo's death, now may be expanded. "The original idea was to have one parent group for each school," he said.

Joey Vahey, 6, a kindergartner at the Woodbury Heights Elementary School, listens as Nancy Barton turns on a tape of a song with an antidrug message. The Municipal Alliance Committee in Woodbury Heights is bringing drug education to the youngest students.

Angry senators yesterday accused the Reagan administration of defying Congress - and breaking faith with the American people - by proposing to cut $100 million from drug-abuse education programs in schools. At a stormy hearing with Education Department officials, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lawton Chiles (D., Fla.) vowed to restore the full $200 million that had been authorized for drug education next year in the anti- drug bill signed by President Reagan days before the fall elections.

DEAR ABBY: When I was a young teen, my mother gave me a copy of your booklet "What Every Teen Should Know. " She left it on my bed for me to read at my own pace, and let me know that I could come to her if I had any questions, when I was ready to ask them. For years that booklet served as a reference guide for me. I also lent it to many of my friends whose parents were not so forthcoming with this important information. Being informed and not believing urban myths made a big difference in our decisions - and we're all doing well now. A decade later, I often work with teens who have received no comprehensive education about sex, drugs or the impact of decisions they make during adolescence.

The School District of Philadelphia has a continuum of collaborative programs, including the Corporate Alliance for Drug Education (CADE), to improve the climate and safety of schools ("Leaving school: Dropping out of sight," April 23). Success is based not on luck or random factors but on nationally validated curricula, annual professional training, and lessons-learned reinforcement. For example, trained prevention specialists help elementary-age children resist substance abuse, manage stress and anger, and resolve conflict nonviolently.

I'm a parent of a 7-year-old and was outraged by your approval of drug testing for all students (Editorial, March 21). Let's get this straight: I'm the parent. That makes me the boss. If I say, "No" to having my child's body invaded by drug testing, then that's the final word. What kind of society are we living in now? Are drugs and their attendant threat enough to give up your parental rights and responsibilities, not to mention your child's Fourth Amendment rights? I absolutely refuse to have my child exposed to this kind of small-minded fascism.

Man's inhumanity to dogs I recently called the SPCA regarding a dog outside day and night in all kinds of weather. The SPCA investigated and reported that as long as the dog has a dog house, as this one apparently does, the SPCA can do nothing. To paraphrase Shakespeare: If you prick dogs, do they not bleed? If it is raining and snowing and freezing out, do they not suffer? What purpose does the SPCA serve if it does not prosecute such blatant cruelty? Nancy Conant Berresford Philadelphia May he march 50 more years I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all of the winners of this year's Mummers parade.

Education is no laughing matter for Bill Cosby. But the entertainer is hoping that laughs will pay off in scholarships for Philadelphia students. He'll star in "An Evening With Bill Cosby" at the Academy of Music tomorrow. Part of the show's proceeds will go to an endowment fund that will send two students from Central High School to Temple University. Cosby attended both Central and Temple. To fund the scholarship, Cosby teamed with the Comcast Foundation, which has seeded the endowment with $50,000 and will match the proceeds from the show.

Sylvia Abdul-Haqq spent her life teaching people how to avoid becoming victims of a violent society. Abdul-Haqq, who was gunned down Sunday morning in Willingboro by her estranged husband, had spent the last year as deputy director of the Corporate Alliance for Drug Education, an organization that educates Philadelphia schoolchildren about dealing with drugs and violence. "She was a lovely person," said Ellen Warren, a spokeswoman for the organization. "The total, awful irony of this is that everything she's done has been about antiviolence, anti-substance abuse.

Linda Brayshaw of Lower Makefield lost her son, Michael, 21. He was found dead in the woods next to a bag of heroin and a needle. John and Lois Reso of Northampton lost their only child, Laura, 18. She died after using heroin with friends. Ann Hairston of Doylestown lost her son, Sekou, 22. She found him dead in his bed, with two bags of heroin on the floor. Kathy and Edward Berry of Port Richmond lost their daughter, Karen Lynn, 17. She was found in a hospital parking lot, killed by a heroin overdose.

Bill Cosby told jokes about his mother, who hated cursing, about a woman who dumped him on a date, and about teachers who did their best to educate him in Philadelphia's public schools. "No such thing as dyslexia back then," he said. "You were just dumb. " Eliciting giggles from an audience at the Academy of Music last night was easy - but no laughing matter for Cosby, who had taken the stage for a serious cause. His show, hosted by fellow comedian Ben Stein, benefited two antidrug organizations: Philadelphia's Corporate Alliance for Drug Education and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

President Clinton has launched the latest offensive in the War on Drugs. With House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.), the President unveiled a five-year, $2 billion anti-drug ad campaign in July. It's intended to educate children about the dangers of drugs. However, as you watch this campaign - which is larger than those of Sprint, American Express and Nike put together - ask yourself one vital question: Will these advertisements stop any significant number of children from using drugs?