More than 60 people attended a training "university" for parents Jan. 17 at Centennial Elementary. Attendees had the choice of attending two of five sessions offered.
Michael Snowden, agent-in-charge of training with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, gave two presentations on psychoactive drug abuse among young people. Snowden spent several years as an undercover narcotics agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. He addressed the four classes of psychoactive drugs: stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens and inhalants, but concentrated mainly on the abuse of pharmaceuticals in Oklahoma.
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"I am absolutely passionate about this issue," he said. “A great number of my presentations concentrate on pharmaceutical abuse because of the rising trend in their abuse. Every year we see large numbers of pharmaceutical overdoses resulting in fatalities. The most important thing to remember about prescription drug abuse is that the problem knows no boundaries. Prescription drug abusers are found in all ages, races, genders and social, economic and educational levels. No one is immune. Obtaining prescription drugs is not difficult, their use is not complicated and their rate of addiction is significant.”
Snowden encourages parents to feel free to search their child's room if they have any suspicions that the child might be using drugs. He said that a significant indicator for suspecting a child is using drugs is if they no longer introduce their friends to family members or become secretive in their associations.
"If your children are not introducing their friends to you, you are making a major mistake. If they are meeting friends that you do not know, away from the home, you may have a problem," he said. "The number one answer for the question, 'How do I know if my kids are on drugs,' is 'Who are they hanging out with?' Drug abusers find each other."
Snowden said he was excited to be included in the Parent University program.
"I am thrilled that Mustang Public Schools would include drug education in their program for the parents,” he said. “The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics has an extensive education program, and education is the first step in combating drug abuse.”
Six educators graduated from the OBN’s CopNet program with a mission to assist OBN in presenting drug awareness education programs to schoolchildren across the state. Fourteen more are needed. For more information, see the OBN’s Web site, http://www.ok.gov/obndd/index.html.
Other classes included:
- Mustang High School Assistant Principal Belinda Harper and Assistant Superintendent Belinda Rogers spoke to parents about testing requirements, with special emphasis on the End of Instruction tests. Starting with this year’s eighth graders, students will have to pass four out of seven EOIs to graduate. Two of the EOIs must be Algebra I and English II.
- Dedra Stafford, Mustang’s instructional technology teacher, offered a lab on Internet safety. Stafford handed out a list of tips for keeping the Internet safe for children, as well as statistics and helpful sites. See Stafford’s handout by visiting the Internet Safety page of this site.
- Keely Humphrey discussed mental health issues and the signs of depression in teens and children.
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