TEXARKANA -- The smacking-together of drumsticks booms out of a classroom at North Heights Junior High School.
Incoming fifth-graders from across the district use the instruments to pound out stress -- banging on the floors and walls.
Down the hall, former University of Arkansas running back Brandon Barnett leads students in a chant: "Focus, faith, follow-through," they say in unison. It's a mantra to stay out of trouble.
In another area, students dash through an obstacle course -- cones and ropes and beams. They must communicate and work together to finish.
In its third year, Arkansas P.R.I.D.E. Academy is a week-long camp that seeks to steer children away from risk-taking behavior. P.R.I.D.E. -- an acronym for Personal Responsibility In Daily Effort -- also fosters healthy relationships between students and law enforcement officers.
Its most recent class graduated Friday.
Any incoming fifth-grader in the Texarkana School District can enroll, said founder Kristi Mitchell, a public information officer at the Texarkana Police Department. This year, 125 children enrolled -- many of whom were recommended due to a history of behavioral infractions at school.
"We looked around and there's no rehabilitation options for kids other than the juvenile detention center," Mitchell said. "Some cities have Big Brothers Big Sisters, the YMCA -- we don't have resources like that available. We wanted to see if we could create a program big enough to create enough change over time, to reduce our crime rate in Texarkana."
Data from an Arkansas Department of Health report show that fifth grade is a pivotal year for youth development. That school year is a threshold for when children begin engaging in sustained criminal activity and risk-taking, said Sarah Powell, a rural health specialist.
To combat that possibility, Texarkana police officers and peer mentors volunteer to help lead the academy. Students partake in different service learning opportunities, such as packing boxes at food banks and cleaning up trash in public parks, in addition to traditional summer camp activities, such as creating and performing skits.
In one workshop, the Dallas-based group Extreme Youth Leadership teaches students about environmentalism. The moderator instructs the children to pass two pieces of paper around in a circle. The first time, students can do anything to the paper, like crumple it or stomp on it. The second time, they must only make positive comments about the paper.
Cody McCrary, 10, is part of the "yellow minions" team, one of five color-based groups into which the children are divided. He said the paper activity helped him learn about how to give back.
"I'm really proud of what I learned about the environment," he said as the purple group broke out into a communal cheer.
"The first one where we got to rip it, I felt very sad because he [the moderator] said, 'What if it were like a human and you were tearing it up?' And the second one we were doing positive things, and I thought I should have treated the other one like I treated the second one."
Since the program began in 2012, the Texarkana School District has seen a decrease in student discipline referrals, which could result in detention, suspension or expulsion, said the district superintendent, Becky Kesler. Fighting, disrespecting teachers, bullying and truancy are common types of referrals.
For the 2012-13 school year, after the first academy, discipline referrals for fourth- and fifth-graders were down 47 percent. Last year, rates went down 6 percent.
The camp -- which is free to all students and costs about $85,000 to run -- creates opportunities for children to bond with one another and with police officers, Kesler said.
"It's a week-long time for them to become friends," she said. "Because they've gone through the academy, they are held to a higher standard, they are expected to behave and they know they will be checked on by the police officers."
Metro on 08/10/2014