Prevention Council

Providing Substance Abuse Education, Information and Referral Services

Partnership thanks community for support of All Stars Camp

Saturday, August 27, 2011
Letter to the Editor
The Saratogian

The Saratoga Partnership for Prevention, a program of The Prevention Council, would like to send its sincere thanks to the administrators, office staff and custodians at Maple Avenue Middle School for their help and cooperation in carrying out the 10th annual All Stars Summer Camp (formerly known as the D.A.R.E. All Stars Camp).

The camp, a collaborative effort between the Saratoga Springs City School District, The Prevention Council and the Saratoga Springs Police Department, was begun in 2002 to help ease the transition from elementary to middle school. Each year, campers tour the middle school, meet kids from other Saratoga elementary schools, hear about the middle school from older students, and become more prepared for the year ahead. They participate in team-building activities, adventure-based games, sports, dance, music and crafts.

They also take part in the award-winning All Stars curriculum, which has been proven to show long-lasting results in reducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, violence and sexual activity among middle school students.

The Saratoga Partnership for Prevention is a coalition of community leaders, organizations and citizens who are concerned about substance use among young people in our community.

Since 2000, when the Partnership was first formed, efforts like the

All Stars Camp have contributed to steadily declining alcohol and substance use rates among young people in the community.

In 2000, when the first youth survey was conducted with middle- and high- school-aged youth, 55 percent reported alcohol use within the past 30 days.

In 2010, when the most recent survey was conducted, that number had dropped to 39 percent.

National research has shown that substance- abuse rates diminish and the perception of harm increases when young people hear consistent no-use messages at home, at school and in their communities. We’re lucky to have so many people and organizations working toward this end right here in Saratoga.

All community members are welcome and encouraged to join the partnership. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month during the school year. For more information, go to www.preventioncouncil.org and click on the coalitions tab.

Maureen Cary, Saratoga Partnership for Prevention coordinator, The Prevention Council

Students Become All Stars at Specialized Camp

By DANIELLE ST. PIERRE
The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A group of about 25 soon-to-be 6th-graders sat in a semi-circle inside the Maple Avenue Middle School auditorium last week and discussed bullying, verbal self-defense and alternatives to violence in school, and explained what values helped inform their decision to “say no” to various social pressures.

All-Stars Camp Program Director Erin Lloyd led the discussion, asking the students not only to agree or disagree with decisions made in simulated scenarios, but to also articulate why they believed it.

Later in the day, the deep discussion erupted into water games, with students doing everything they could to get each other wet.

The All Stars Camp — formerly called D.A.R.E. All Stars Camp — is celebrating its 10th anniversary this summer.

The day program is comprised of four sessions that run this month and next, with space for 48 6th-grade students from the Saratoga Springs City School District in each session. The program features a variety of sports and crafts, team-building activities and teaching sessions that aim to expose students to smart, healthy alternatives to drugs and alcohol, promoting good decisions.

Some recent hits among the students included a smoothie-making activity that taught a hands-on approach to nutrition, and a series of outdoor water relays to beat the sweltering heat.

The camp was founded as a collaboration among Saratoga Springs city schools, the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Partnership for Prevention and the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council in the summer of 2002 to respond to anxiety among children and parents about the transition to middle school, as well as elevated substance use at the middle school level.

Saratoga Springs resident Patty Folts has sent three of her children to All Stars Camp. She said the program has been helpful in preparing students for middle school and helping to smooth that crucial transition.

Folts said the program exposed her children to bullying, substance abuse and peer pressure that often begins in middle school, and helped broach sensitive issues that were then much easier to talk about openly at home. Folts’ son, Ryan, now a senior in high school, had such a positive experience in All Stars that he later became a counselor at the camp.

“All Stars makes the learning fun,” Folts said.

Lloyd, who is a middle-school teacher in addition to the program’s director, started as a counselor at All Stars 10 years ago and has since helped the program grow into a more self-sustaining body, which she said constantly changes to educate students through current, more creative approaches.

“We want to give these kids access to a wide range of activities and open their minds,” Lloyd said.

Partnership for Prevention’s All Stars Camp Celebrates 10th Anniversary

May 27, 2011
Saratoga Today

SARATOGA SPRINGS –  There are still spaces available for the 10th annual All Stars Camp, a highly-regarded program that promotes smart decision-making and instills the core values of the recently discontinued D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.

Registration is open to fifth graders in the Saratoga Springs City School District for all four summer camp sessions: July 11-15, July 18-22, July 25-29, and August 1-5. There are plenty of spaces still available, but families should be sure to send their registration forms as soon as possible to ensure their children’s participation.

To sign up or obtain a registration form, log onto www.preventioncouncil.org. The Council will accept registration forms until the camp is full.

All four sessions of camp feature arts and crafts, sports, life skills workshops, and 9 interactive All-Stars workshops, where kids set goals for the future and promise to make smart choices to achieve those goals. All Stars is rated a model program by the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and it has confirmed, long-lasting results in reducing alcohol, tobacco, other drug use, violence, and sexual activity among middle school-age students. The last day of camp each week features a tour of the middle school, a treasure hunt, experiments with locker combinations, and discussions with Maple Avenue staff and students about middle school culture.

All Stars is recognized as a model program by the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and has proven long-lasting results in reducing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, as well as violence, and sexual activity among middle school-age students.

This fun-filled summer program has been educating middle school-age students to make a difference in our community for the past 10 years. All Stars Camp is a collaborative effort among Saratoga Schools, the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Partnership for Prevention, and the Prevention Council that was founded in 2002 after the results of the first district-wide youth and parent surveys were returned.

The inaugural survey results indicated anxiety among children and parents about the transition to middle school, as well as elevated substance use levels at the middle school. In response to these core issues, members of the Partnership for Prevention launched a two-week pilot for 80 children at the Police Benevolent Range on Weibel Avenue.

In 2003, the camp grew to its current four-week session, where it has remained a sellout for nearly 200 children ever since. All Stars Camp moved to Maple Avenue Middle School last summer, and is expected to remain there for the foreseeable future.

“Over the years, we’ve gotten some incredible feedback from both parents and teachers about how much difference All Stars Camp has made in easing this first major school transition,” said Partnership Coordinator Maureen Cary. “Our bi-annual survey data [shows this] as well, with substance use and risky behavior in early middle school at record-low levels. We hope the next 10 years are as successful as the first 10.”

All Stars Camp is staying strong with the enormous and generous support of our community. The Saratoga partnership for Prevention includes youth, parents, and individuals representing key sectors and organizations concerned about youth within the Saratoga Springs City School District.

For more information, visit www.preventioncouncil.org or call (518) 581-1230.