The Revere Middle School Guidance office has initiated an annual program to promote awareness among Revere District parents concerning issues of illegal substance use on a local and global scale.

On October 5, 2016, school counselors Elizabeth Long, Kendra Quinlan and Rachel Winski kick-started a substance abuse awareness presentation titled “Let’s Start Talking,” which all Revere Local School District parents could attend. The presentation fell under the school counselors’ plan to advance their programs and to better assist students; they brought it to Revere Middle School principal Bill Conley and received his full support. They decided to take the proactive initiative and incorporate more robust programming into their work rather than wait for a particular incident to spur a need for such resources. The presentation did not have a particular focus on any specific substances, but rather desired to stimulate conversation on awareness and prevention within the community.

The presentation included speeches from the following individuals, sequentially: Conley, Revere Middle School assistant principal Todd Casey, Revere Middle School school counselors Long, Quinlan and Winski, Revere Middle School health education teacher Kory Rorabaugh, Revere Local Schools substance abuse prevention coordinator Bonnie Simonelli, Richfield police officer and detective Amy Ellis and a Revere Local Schools community member.

The informational portion of the presentation began with a video produced and created by Revere district parent Jeanette Geer, who works in television advertising and video production. This video showed interviews with community members on how substance abuse, particularly the use of heroin, has impacted their lives. Conley discussed the power of the video.

“The message is powerful for anyone who sees it just because it involves people in our community. That is huge because parents and schools say ‘That is not who we are,’ ‘That does not happen to us,’ but it does happen to us, and we need to recognize that. . . . The video would benefit everybody and says that this is real. I watched it again [at the presentation] and got a little bit emotional because it is so important. . . . Obviously it is our job along with parents and our community that we do everything in our power to avoid those situations,” Conley said.

Conley also explained the importance of sustaining the sense of unity among the community and the district concerning the issues of substance abuse. The school district in conjunction with the community and the parents makes sure that kids know the dangers of what the outside world holds and could present to them. He wants students to know that they do not have to make decisions all on their own, and that they should feel supported.

Casey reviewed with attendants the school policy concerning student substance. He explained that Revere Local Schools District has a zero-tolerance policy for student use of drug substances. Any student proven to be under the influence or found to be in possession of drug substances will receive an immediate ten days out-of-school suspension.

Conley voiced that while the school does enact discipline on students, he holds larger concerns in comparison to a school suspension. His concern is helping students make good choices and learn the lasting impacts of their decisions. He does not look to place blame or make judgment.

“We only see kids for so long throughout the day, but we want to help people help their kids make good decisions, and help them if they make a bad one too. We want to be part of the solution so that the bad decisions do not happen again. . . . There are school consequences, but there is something far greater beyond that, no question. . . in the grand scheme of things [the punishment] is so small. We want to help give you the avenue to where if it gets to the point of rehabilitation, you get that. The suspension is so small, it is ten days of a whole life. If you continue down this road, it could affect the rest of your life, and I tell parents that. I am concerned with you moving forward and getting help and getting the son or daughter into the facilities and the help that they need,” Conley said.

In addition to education on the effects of drugs in social settings, substance abuse prevention also includes education on the scientific details of drugs. According to Long, knowledge of these scientific details in addition to awareness of the social issues surrounding substance abuse sets students up for success when they make decisions about substance use. The more she talks with students, the more she gathers that students desire knowledge on these topics and how they play into current events in reality.

“I would hope that getting that scientific information on drugs gives [students] the full picture. If they are only hearing one side of it from a friend who does not have the full information, then they are not able to make an educated decision. They need to have all of that information before making an educated decision about what they are doing. It is my belief that once they learn the true facts about it that they will see the road they will not want to go down,” Long said.

According to Quinlan, while the school does not have any severe substance abuse problems, the school counselors would like to discuss these issues occurring in the world before they become a problem. They believe in proactivity, especially with the knowledge of the occurrences within Ohio. As the community resides in the state of Ohio, Quinlan explained that there is no immunity to the incidents taking place in surrounding areas. Quinlan does assure, however, that the community must practice proactivity so that students do not become statistics.

“On a local basis, if we look at the local news and in our county and in Cuyahoga county, drug deaths are on the rise. [We want to] start the conversation with parents and show the parents what our plan as a counseling department is to support that topic. . . . Part of our hope is that parents will take away that the school can be a resource, the counseling department can be a resource, these are the things we are doing and the things you can be doing at home as well. The message starts at home, but we really want a partnership [with the parents],” Quinlan said.

In addition to the Revere Middle School “Let’s Start Talking” presentation, the monthly “Coffee with the counselors” program is scheduled to take place this month on Thursday, October 20. The topic will be drug and alcohol awareness and prevention, and the meeting will include guest speaker Simonelli. In November, RMS and RHS will also co-sponsor Breaking Barriers, an Akron-based substance abuse awareness program that will have both a student presentation and a parent presentation.