Shelby County Drug Free Coalition
Shelby County Drug Free Coalition Coordinator Jan Corbett is working to educate students about drugs through the Above the Influence program. Photo by Erica Techo.
Shelby County Schools will learn to be Above the Influence this year. Through the nationwide anti-drug campaign, students will learn to stand up to negative influences, including pressure to use drugs and alcohol.
Shelby County Drug Free Coalition Coordinator Jan Corbett said the program’s structure helps facilitate open and honest discussion. Rather than having counselors lead the campaign, teachers will act as peer helper sponsors to work with groups of students.
“The peer helper sponsor is actually the facilitator,” Corbett said. “She’s not preaching and teaching and telling them ‘You have to do this, you better do this,’ but the program is in such a way that you get the kids thinking about their influences.”
Andrew Hertzberg, who leads Above the Influence for the nationwide Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, said having teens address each other is what sets the program apart from others. The campaign has changed since its launch in 2006, and Hertzberg said it works to keep up-to-date with social media and pop culture to relate to participating students.
One of the biggest lessons, Hertzberg said, is that media depictions of drug and alcohol use are not reality.
“While pop culture and media may glamorize it, may make it seem exciting, students learn the fact is most kids aren’t doing these things,” he said.
Students interested in acting as peer helpers submit an application, and sponsors select a group of around 25 students to participate in activities and lessons twice a week to promote positive self-image and choices.
“These are things that are happening every day in their life, and they affect each other,” he said. “So this broader messaging gives them the strength to really understand what it is they face every day.”
Students will also learn how to identify drugs, the negative influence of drugs and any available resources.
“They need to know what it looks like, what it’s going to do to them, in case they have a friend that might be involved in a certain kind of drug. This peer helper will have the type of information they may need to help their friend,” Corbett said.
Through Above the Influence, all students will have access to online resources including videos, informational guides and monitored discussion boards through drugfree.org.
The Drug Free Coalition is also working with schools to bring in guest speakers from the sheriff’s department, coroner’s office and the community. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will provide resources to the Drug Free Coalition as well as instructional classes and discussions with parents at the schools.
“Our message is the same,” said Sheriff’s Office Lt. Clay Hammac. “We want to work with the Drug Free Coalition as a multiplier to get the message out.”
Through these community discussions, Corbett hopes to provide information and start conversations for the whole community.
“They’re hoping the kids will be real and transparent and hoping that this will help the leaders – the mayor, the police chief and everything – to just be more informed about what is going on out there with these kids and how they can help,” she said.
Participating schools include:
- Chelsea High School
- Chelsea Middle School
- Oak Mountain High School
- Oak Mountain Middle School
- Oak Mountain Intermediate School
- Mt. Laurel Intermediate School
- Inverness Elementary School
- Forest Oaks Elementary School
