‘Grow and develop’

More than a half-dozen prevention-related programs are now offered in the Pennsylvania region by partners such as The Learning Lamp, Remembering Adam and the Alternative Community Resource Program.

Often funded by state grants and supported by nonprofits such as the United Way and the 1889 Foundation, many of those programs were developed and tested for specific age groups.

Botvin LifeSkills Training has become the area’s most visible example since it was implemented in 2011-12. The Learning Lamp, ACRP and district teachers in some schools deliver Botvin to the sixth through eighth grades, focusing on ways to build self-esteem and self-confidence, how to cope with anxiety and how to better comprehend the wide-reaching consequences of substance abuse, Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Case Manager Fred Oliveros said.

The middle school years can be difficult with or without the lure of drugs, he said.

Botvin LifeSkills builds traits that help students form a positive self-image and make sound decisions, Shanksville-Stonycreek Superintendent Samuel Romesberg said.

“The structure of the program is ‘hands-on’ and experimental,” he said, noting that rather than listening to lectures, students actively participate in role-playing activities and strategy sessions to navigate potentially stressful situations.

“It is a multi-tiered program that addresses many aspects of a student’s life as they grow and develop into an adult,” he said.

All 11 Somerset County schools participate in the Botvin program for one or more grades, along with Blacklick Valley, Cambria Heights, Central Cambria, Conemaugh Valley, Ferndale Area, Forest Hills, Glendale Area, Greater Johnstown, Holy Name school, Penn Cambria, Portage Area, Richland and Westmont Hilltop in Cambria County.

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