RUSSELLVILLE — It is an acknowledged truth that the teenage years are rife with opportunities for risky behavior, and the Russellville School District, in its commitment to arm teen leaders to act as champions for change in their communities and schools, has recently hosted the second Teen Leadership Coalition. Sixty-five students, 15 facilitators and approximately six parents from nine high schools in Pope and Yell counties attended the two-day event.
The teens, chosen by principals and school counselors or nominated by parents or leaders, were bused to the Lake Point Conference Center in Russellville and treated to a packed agenda, challenging thoughts and top-notch food.
Margie Smith, Russellville School Board member and coordinator of T.L.C., outlined the goals of the event, which is funded by the Allstate Foundation.
“We aim to help students conduct a needs assessment by looking at current data; to assist the students in identifying the prevalence of risky behaviors, where they are occurring, when and why; to help students describe environment risk factors associated with risky behaviors; to help students prioritize their risk factors to determine which ones you want to target for intervention; to show students how to develop an action plan to guide their prevention efforts; and to review the importance of cultural competence and sustainability in their prevention efforts,” she said.
If this sounds irrelevant, consider the statistics: In Pope County, 57.8 percent of teenagers drink alcohol in other people’s homes, with 59.9 percent of all high school sophomores reportedly involved, in some aspect, with drinking. Roughly half the seniors have smoked cigarettes, and one in three Yell county seniors, according to collected data, has smoked marijuana.
“The skills these students learned will enhance their ability to tackle problems broadly and effectively,” Smith added. “They will be able to teach their peers and adult leaders to apply the same principals. Together, the students will have a winning team in combating underage drinking, distracting driving and other risky behaviors that arise around their community.”
In addition to police officers, educators and media personalities, a medical team and a media guru headlined workshops. The River Valley Prevention Coalition provided volunteer power.
Atkins junior Luke Duvall, who also attended last year’s T.L.C. event, said some of the speakers had unique ways of keeping students interested.
“Gregory Hatcher, the insurance guy, gave out $20 bills for doing push-ups. He gave an extra $20 for doing them in the right way, so I remembered that, and this year I was the first to volunteer. I did 22 pushups and won $120,” Duvall said. “It kept things real interesting. The whole conference was organized to keep our attention. Mr. Hatcher really knew how to get the job done, though, because he started slowly and got us into a lot of other issues.”
Pottsville junior Andy Winchell agreed.
“Mr. Hatcher was crazy brilliant, but all the speakers were very professional in how they talked to us like we were adults. They didn’t blow us off,” Winchell said.
Through activities that included cultural-awareness exercises, evaluating and understanding Arkansas needs-assessment data, writing a mission statement, developing a purpose statement and developing a values/ belief statement, the students learned to identify problems, developed an action plan and methods to recruit others, created school campaigns and learned how to use the “elevator speech.”
One of the tools presented at the conference — the “elevator speech” — prompted students on the fine art of persuasive speech. Intended to ease the fear of recruiting others to lend their support, the speech encouraged participants to develop their ideas into well-rehearsed, condensed spiels.
These teens, beacons of rational thinking among their peers, were peppered with uncomfortable scenarios as part of the exercises.
“They need to feel comfortable presenting their opinions and standing by them,” Smith said.
To that end, the students formed small groups and practiced putting together PSAs (public service announcements) and developing mission statements and action plans, a process that appealed to Hector senior Boone Sumners.
“I liked it because in 4-H we’ve been involved in executing PSAs and mini podcasts on chemistry experiments. I think I’ll make some about teen safety from ideas I learned here,” he said.
Another inspired student, Danville junior Ivette Alcocer, resolved to do more in her community.
“I really enjoyed the conference, and it has motivated me to make more of a difference in my school. Our S.A.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) group is not very active, and I’m going to help them out more.”
Senior Emily Patton, also of Danville, said she always knew drinking and driving was wrong.
“Now, texting while driving is the big deal, and we need to do something about it,” she said.
Call it excitement, motivation, drive. Whatever it’s called, it’s what Smith says is needed to make strides in addressing problems among youth.
“One of our presenters is Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and they prowled the parking lot and gave out Smarties and Dum Dums to the students by virtue of their actions. If they were on the phone or texting, they received a Dum Dum, but if they weren’t engaged in distracting behavior, they received Smarties candies. It was such a simple concept, but it made such an impression on the kids. I’ve heard of four or five schools that were going to replicate that because the kids thought the concept was easy enough to replicate with little money, and yet, it delivers a punch.”
Pottsville schools have also made plans to post signs at the entrance and exit of their campuses, she said.
“Sayings like, ‘Do you have your seat belt on?’ and ‘Don’t text and drive,’” Smith continued.
“I want these students to feel empowered to alter what’s happened around them. This is one of the most fulfilling programs I’ve been involved with, and the Russellville Board of Education is excited to host this annual event,” she said.
It is a formidable task force — these teens among their peers, able to penetrate where adults can’t.
“These were teenagers my own age,” Patton said. “It’s really exciting, all we can do.”
Additional events are planned for the winter and spring with a grant provided by the Russellville Police Department. For more information or to nominate a teen for the program, call Margie Smith at (479) 967-1567.