This year, students and parents will see more of the Lawrence County Pride Team now that it has expanded its program.

Monday, September 25, 2000

This year, students and parents will see more of the Lawrence County Pride Team now that it has expanded its program.

In addition to countywide performances, the dance and performance art team of students from schools throughout the county will conduct prevention programs at the elementary and middle school level, coordinator Tim Willis said.

One of the programs, the "Adolescent Tobacco Prevention Program," is an interactive program that will be seen by every sixth-grader in the county, Willis said.

Another program, "Get Real About Violence," is designed to teach fourth- and fifth-graders about conflict management, he said.

The prevention programs are designed to reach younger students before they start negative behavior. Members of the Pride Team will take these programs into the classrooms of the younger students and make them a part of the school curriculum, Willis said.

Also this year, the team will write to local newspapers and government representatives.

The additional activities are designed to help team members become more community involved, he said.

"This helps them to realize that they have a voice," he said. "When these kids graduate, they’ll become involved, community-active adults."

In September, 10 members of the Pride Team traveled to Columbus to train for certification through the national Pride organization. Those 10 are now teaching the rest of the team what they learned.

In March, the Pride Team will attend the national Pride Conference in Louisville, Ky., where members will attend workshops and participate in performances, Willis said.

The Pride Team is an effective tool for getting important messages across to younger students, because Pride Team members become role models in ways that adults can’t, he said.

"Adults are too old to be cool," Willis said. "The kids identify us too much with their parents. This way we can utilize the kid power."

Willis said that part of the reason the Pride Team is so effective is support from the school districts.

Each district helps pay for their schools’ representatives on the pride team, Willis said.

"The districts give us 100 percent support," he said. "That’s the key to our success."