Is Kindergarten Too Soon for Drug Prevention Efforts?

The Hatboro-Horsham School District is considering hiring a Student Assistance Program coordinator to oversee substance abuse prevention efforts district-wide.

What is the appropriate age to talk about peer pressure, drugs and alcohol? Hatboro-Horsham School District Assistant Superintendent John Nodecker suggested that kindergarten is the time to begin substance abuse prevention efforts.  "We have to start in kindergarten," Nodecker told the school board during Tuesday night's work session. "It may be too late when they get to sixth-grade." Nodecker, in making a pitch for the creation of a K-12 Student Assistance Program coordinator, said that the district's prevention efforts now are fragmented. The elementary schools and Keith Valley Middle School act as "islands" with little, if any, coordinated efforts, he said.  For more news and updates about Hatboro and Horsham, including a related …

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Horsham Hosts Forum on Drug, Alcohol Abuse

Hatboro-Horsham School District's second annual 'Conversation Forum' is slated for Jan. 30 at the Horsham Township Community Center.

Have you ever wished you could get in teenagers' heads to find out why the lure of drugs and alcohol is, in some cases, so powerful? Well, now you can. As part of the second annual "Conversation Forum," local teens will share "their personal journey through substance abuse," according to organizer Kim Rubenstein. The Jan. 30 panel discussion, which is one of many substance abuse awareness events put forth by Hatboro-Horsham School District's nearly 2-year-old initiative, Be A Part of the Conversation, is focused on continuing the conversation about drugs and alcohol. "What people really liked about it was they got to hear the reality of substance abuse in young people," Rubenstein said of last year's forum, which drew about 150 people. "…

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Ex-NBA Star to Speak to Hatboro-Horsham Tonight

Former professional basketball player Chris Herren will share journey of addiction to recovery at Hatboro-Horsham High School.

Ex-NBA Star to Share Addiction Woes at H-H

Former Boston Celtics player Chris Herren will speak at Hatboro-Horsham High School on Jan. 8.

Through its substance abuse awareness initiative Be A Part of the Conversation, Hatboro-Horsham High School is bringing addiction out of the closet and into the mainstream with help from a recovering addict and former NBA star.  Chris Herren, a standout basketball star who had played for the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets - all while abusing heroin, painkillers and cocaine - will share his harrowing story of addiction to recovery at Hatboro-Horsham High School on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. "Bringing somebody like Chris Herren, who is so real in his presentation, wlll help people to understand that much more that it can be anyone," Kim Rubenstein, the parent liaison for Be A Part of the Conversation. "You can watch how somebody almost loses …

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European American

2:42 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Blame the docs and insurance companies. Docs get a kickback from the manufacturers for prescribing their drugs. And people sell those pills because they have a very high street value. It's a shame but that's how it is. And it's not just painkillers. I'm in my 30s but I've heard teens are buying ADD meds and stuff like that. I'd be too afraid of that kind of stuff. These kids get hooked on pain …   more ›

Addiction Brought to Life

Hatboro-Horsham High School will stage "Addict," a one-act play in the fall

Weed. Blow. Crack. Black tar. Brew. While the pseudonyms for drugs and alcohol may sound cool, another term that could go along with the progressive over-consumption of those – addict – is decidedly un-cool. In an ongoing effort to shed light on the perils of drug and alcohol abuse, Hatboro-Horsham High School will stage “Addict,” an eye-opening one-act play in the fall. The “important messages” that writer Jerome McDonough conveys about various forms of substance abuse are something that “everybody needs to see,” according to Kim Rubenstein, the parent liaison for the district’s drug and alcohol awareness initiative, Be A Part of the Conversation. “It’s a difficult subject, but it’s so important,” Rubenstein said. Play auditions will be …

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Substance Abuse ‘Conversation’ to Continue

Hatboro-Horsham school officials will use student drug use survey results to drive future initiatives.

What factors contribute to kids trying, and in some cases, abusing drugs and alcohol?  Hatboro-Horsham School District officials are striving to find answers that may help steer future generations of students away from using drugs. Officials hope to gain some clarity from 1,600 Hatboro-Horsham High School students, who last month completed a survey related to various forms of drug use. Similar queries will be given to Keith Valley Middle School students today. “Are there any indicators that can help us to preempt?” Kim Rubenstein, a parent liaison for the district’s Be A Part of the Conversation initiative asked. “When you talk about prevention, it’s pretty tricky because it’s very difficult to (prevent) a young person from taking chances …

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H-H High School May Survey Students on Drug Use

If the school board approves the voluntary survey, students would be polled in early May on everything from accessibility and use of various drugs to parental involvement.

How easy is it for Hatboro-Horsham High School students to obtain alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs and heroin – and how often are these substances used?  Jeff Tomlinson, the district’s director of safety, hopes that the 1,631 students will be able to answer those questions and others as part of an anonymous – and completely voluntary - two-page survey. “What we’ve tried to do is take a step back and look at an issue from a different way. What goes on in their world from their view,” Tomlinson said of students. “Can we learn from the students at the high school and pass those lessons on to the students at the middle school and at the elementary school?” That is the hope shared by Tomlinson, a retired FBI agent, and other district …

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H-H School District Parents, Students, Staff Join 'Conversation' About Drugs and Alcohol

Nearly 200 people turned out for Tuesday's district-sponsored event.

Nearly 200 parents, students, community members and area educators joined together Tuesday at the Horsham Township Community Center and demonstrated their willingness to "Be a Part of the Conversation" that the Hatboro-Horsham School District has initiated about drug and alcohol use and abuse. The first of three planned "Be a Part of the Conversation" events for this school year was aimed at getting students, parents and employees talking about substance abuse. The initiative got underway last spring. Steve Glaize, Hallowell Elementary School principal, served as the evening's moderator and began by reading excerpts from a newspaper article printed in 1971 about Hallowell Elementary School holding a similar event where parents met with …

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Parent Group Becomes Part of the 'Conversation'

The 'Parent Partnership' is part of the district's new anti-substance abuse program.

More than a dozen parents came out to Hatboro-Horsham School Distirict’s first Parent Partnership meeting at the Horsham Library Thursday evening. The meetings are part of the district’s "Be a Part of the Conversation" program that started earlier this year. The goal of the program is to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse in the Hatboro and Horsham communities. “Our goal here is to raise awareness and educate parents,” said Kim Rubenstein, who is the parent liaison for the group. “Supportive families are the key to getting someone ahead of abuse.” The Parent Partnership group won’t just tackle the issue of drug and alcohol abuse. “We are going to discuss other risky behaviors, like 'sexting,' ” Rubenstein said.   Discussions that…

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H-H Introduces 'Parent Partnership'

The new group is aimed at supporting families and is an off-shoot of the school district's initiative to bring greater awareness to drug and alcohol abuse.

Hatboro-Horsham School District parents who want to educate themselves about the mental, physical and social-emotional worlds of their children are invited to join the Parent Partnership, a new group that will meet for the first time Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Horsham Township Library. The group, which is being organized by both the district and Rehab After Work, is an off-shoot of the "Be a Part of the Conversation" initiative that began last spring to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse in the community. "Parent Partnership" will become a place where parents can share concerns about their children as well as ideas for how to address those issues. Various matters, such as how to talk with kids about drugs and …

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