GENEVA - - Local students are reaching out for guidance, and Ashtabula County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Whitely is reaching back.
Whitely is working to establish the Dare to IMPROVE (Interactive Multicultural Partnerships for the Reduction of Violence Through Education) Program and a conference for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade Geneva students. It will "(explore) violence and drug prevention, consequences and civic responsibility through community-based learning," Whitely said.
Whitely will direct the recording of a documentary on the program today which will star Geneva students and serve as the model program for other Ashtabula County school districts. Whitely hopes the new program, which takes the place of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, will take root in all Ashtabula County schools.
"The DARE program is gone from all but the Geneva School District because of mixed reviews and some funding issues. I was brought in to design a program to improve on the DARE model and implement the Improve model in the county," Whitely said.
Whitely has been a DARE officer since 1990.
"We are continuing where DARE left off three or four years ago," he said.
The Improve documentary will feature a program at the Geneva Police Department, and then a student will be flown to UH-Geneva Medical Center by medical helicopter. Students also will film a simulated fire evacuation with the Geneva Fire Department, Whitely said.
"The Improve Program has several arms. We bring in local government, law enforcement, legal and court staff, hospital and emergency medical crews and safety forces to show not only violence and drug prevention, but the medical and legal consequences of drug use and violence," Whitely said.
While 10 to 15 Geneva students will be involved in the recording, Whitely is recruiting fourth, fifth and sixth-grade students from across the county to participate in the next Improve Program conference.
The Improve Program conference will include up to 80 students who will lead local school districts in the new program, Whitely said.
"We are making these children into community leaders. We are responsible for helping develop children into good citizens," Whitely said.
For more information on the Improve Program or to enroll your child in the Improve Conference, contact Whitely (440 354-9981) or e-mail him (mwhitely@kent.edu).