Paramount : Anti-Drug Classes to Begin
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy will begin teaching drug-prevention classes Oct. 1 to sixth-grade students at Alondra and Clearwater intermediate schools in the Paramount Unified School District.
Deputy Margie Wagner will instruct students on the dangers of drugs and teach them skills to “just say no,” said Katie Barak, director of curriculum services.
Wagner, who is part of the Substance Abuse and Narcotics Education project of the Sheriff’s Department, will teach a total of 20 hours a week to about 1,100 students in health education classes at the schools.
As part of the program, administrators and counselors will develop a profile of high-risk students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades and provide individual counseling and referrals for parents to receive additional professional help, Barak said.
The drug-prevention effort is part of the district’s overall substance abuse education for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
A portion of the deputy’s salary will be paid from a $34,200 grant from the federal Office of Criminal Justice Planning. Part of the grant money also will be used to pay for printing of drug information materials.
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