The Capital School Board got some good news at its monthly meeting Aug. 20, when it was presented with information on a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.

    The Alcohol Reduction Grant, an award of $674,654, will be given over the course of three years, starting this school year.

    Tonya Guinn, cadre teacher for drug free schools in the district, outlined the plans and goals for the grant money, including cutting alcohol abuse and binge drinking among high school students by 5% in each of the three years.

    “The district has some primary goals, the second of which is to ensure that students and staff have a safe, nurturing and substance free environment in which to learn and work,” Guinn said. “The Alcohol Reduction Grant helps to meet that goal.”

    The idea to pursue the grant resulted from a partnership between the Dover Caring Community Coalition, Delaware State University, the Wellness Center at Dover High School and the student support services in Capital.

    The Rev. Dr. Warren Rhodes, associate dean of the College of Health and Public Policy at DSU, was principal author of the grant and said the money will help the community fight substance abuse problems.

    “This is a great opportunity to do something for prevention in our community,” Rhodes said. “Not that we have a lot of alcohol problems now, but we want to prevent them.”

    Each group involved is bringing its own ideas to the table on how to spend the money and increase prevention efforts. Guinn said one benefit would be the ability to have a certified drug and alcohol clinician at the school three days per week.

    She also stressed the most important thing is getting student involvement in prevention. Students will use the money in part to create fun, prevention-themed activities they might have been unable to afford in the past.

    “The DCCC are going to be helping the high school in incorporating a youth service organization,” Guinn said. “Those students, under this initiative, will be trained advocates for substance abuse prevention.

    “They’re also going to shift into developing local workshops, youth activities, festivals, you name it.”

    Lynn Widdison, supervisor of student support services, agreed with Guinn on student involvement and said adults in the district need to start thinking like the kids would, and find ideas that are enjoyable yet effective.

    “We want to hold some youth festivals,” Widdison said. “We need to get the youth out there and involved, so there is an idea of maybe a battle of the bands. All those young people have bands and they want them to be heard.”

    Another part of the plan is student assistance programming, in which random reports can be filed if there is concern of a substance abuse problem with a particular student.

    “This helps identify when kids have a problem,” Widdison said. “It would be having a box in the library where staff, students or parents could write a referral and say, ‘I think maybe there’s a problem.’”

    Superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas said the grant award is not just a benefit to the school district, but also helps the community in prevention too.

    “It is a good, preventative, proactive way to fight substance abuse,” Thomas said. “For the federal government to make available these grants, these are important issues for our children in their mental and physical well being.”

Email Brian Citino at brian.citino@doverpost.com.