Tuesday, April 2, 2013
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 …
Monday, January 28, 2013
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. "…
Friday, January 4, 2013
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 …
Friday, June 8, 2012
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 …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Experts in the substance abuse treatment field share insight on what may have led decorated Hatboro police officer John Becker to be arrested for thefts and misuse of drug informants.
John Becker is said to have shown his Hatboro Police Department badge while hawking firearms allegedly stolen from the station’s evidence locker. In another instance, Becker, a cop of 17 years, is described as being “crazed,” “nuts” and “frantic” while allegedly attempting to illegally obtain OxyContin. One may wonder how a narcotics officer, who had worked for more than a decade in the Montgomery County Drug Task Force, allegedly committed blatantly criminal acts? The “dumb stuff” that Becker has been charged with doing is attributable to his addiction to pain medications, according to Andy Callaghan, a Philadelphia Police Department detective and coordinator for the First Responders Addiction Treatment program as part of Bensalem-based …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
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 …
Friday, September 16, 2011
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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Janet Ward
6:32 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013
Having a child in kindergarten I can tell you she does not know what drug are except for when she is sick. No need to inform them of drinking and drugs in kindergarten when I would think a good amount of them aren't even aware they exist. Let them be innocent a little while longer..........I agree 3rd or 4th grade would be more appropriate. I would not be happy if my kindergarten child was … more ›