South Gate : Student Anti-Drug Course
Nearly 600 South Gate Junior High School students were given certificates this week for completing an eight-week drug education program, which is part of their regular curriculum.
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education project, a three-year, Los Angeles Police Department-inspired anti-drug campaign, is a pilot program at South Gate Junior High. The project started this summer at the school, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and is on a year-round schedule.
The course for seventh-graders is taught by South Gate Police Officer Paul Loudon, 31, an a 11-year veteran of the department.
“We not only teach them the dangers of drugs but they are taught to resist peer pressure, to say no to drugs,” said Loudon, who attended a two-week course given by Los Angeles police.
In Los Angeles, more than 50 officers are assigned to more than 400 elementary and junior high schools as part of that city’s project.
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