Community Education Council 31 asks the city's Department of Education to implement an anti-drug curriculum for all grades.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island's Community Education Council (CEC) members adopted a resolution Monday that calls upon the city's Department of Education to provide funding to expand the successful "Too Good For Drugs" curriculum to every grade level as a way of helping combat the borough's drug epidemic.
The "Too Good for Drugs" program -- a collaboration between Borough President James Oddo's office, the NYPD, the city Department of Education, the Archdiocese of New York and substance abuse experts -- partners police officers with classroom teachers to deliver "a comprehensive curriculum" aimed at teaching students to make the right choices against drugs and substance abuse.
The CEC believes students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade could benefit from participating in a similar curriculum geared toward their grade level.
CEC members likened the approach to the way the school system tackled the HIV/AIDS epidemic during the health crisis that gripped the city in the 1990s. At the time the school system put in place a comprehensive age-appropriate HIV/AIDS education curriculum for all grades.
"It's never too early to start getting the message out to them," said CEC President Michael Reilly. He suggested, for example, that a 4-year-old in pre-K might start by learning that pills -- which are often brightly colored -- are not candy, and what to do if they find, or are offered pills.
"If we can teach children about stranger-danger, about fire safety, and other dangers, we should be able to teach them about drug prevention," Reilly said.
The borough president has also been pressing for additional funding to expand the program, and Reilly said the resolution was also meant as a show of support for Oddo's efforts.
"This curriculum, while dealing with drugs, also addresses important areas like peer pressure and how to use good judgment. We will not be with our kids 100 percent of the time and need for them to be armed with information and how to make good decisions," said Laura Timoney, the borough president's deputy director for education.
Oddo said he was grateful for the CEC support.
"I don't believe that we educate our students sufficiently about the dangers of opioids and opioid addiction," he said.
"Did you know that high school students are only educated on this topic for a single semester during their four years, and that it is only one topic (amongst many) taught in health class? This, after just one semester during their entire time in middle school. That is why our efforts bringing Too Good For Drugs to fifth grade classrooms is so important, but certainly not enough," he continued.
"It is also why it is critical the DOE recognizes the opioid epidemic for what it is, a crisis, and requires instruction, in an age-appropriate way, Pre-K through 12, throughout students' educational careers. We are grateful for the support of the CEC and all those who recognize that this is just common sense."
In the first 31 days of the New Year there have been seven overdose deaths and a total of 18 suspected overdoses on Staten Island, according to the office of district Attorney Michael McMahon. The district attorney's office was investigating 90 suspected fatal overdoses as of year-end 2016, however, authorities estimate the total to be more than 110 overdose deaths.