This article will conclude our three-part series on addressing the current crisis in school shootings and how Lycoming County is doing everything possible to prevent it from happening here. The first two installments featured the Juvenile Probation Department with Brian Pick and an example of school support with the East Lycoming Area High School and their principal Ronald Lorson. In this last feature, we want to highlight the work of the West Branch Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission.

West Branch (for short) supplies an abundance of services to the area community, with two specifically designed for the schools. The first is the Student Assistance Program or SAP. They assist school personnel in identifying issues including alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as mental health issues, which pose a barrier to students’ success. The services offered by West Branch are assessment, consultation, referral, and/or small group education for SAP youth.

The person who serves West Branch in this critical field is Cheryl Plankenhorn. Cheryl meets with the SAP team in each school, which is made up of the nurse, guidance counselor, teachers, administrators, and selected others. They review cases of students who exhibit some change in behavior. It may be more aggression, a lack of interest in areas where the student was previously active, or a drop in grades. The team will review the case, see if it meets their criteria for study, and if so, data would then be collected from those who know the student to see what could be a reason for the present struggles in school.

Once the source is generally identified, and the team agrees that an intervention is required, then parental permission must be sought and given before any action can be taken with the student. Unfortunately, there are cases where the parents do not want the issue pursued. But when permission is given, and drugs or alcohol is suspected, Cheryl Plankenhorn would take the case.

Cheryl attends two SAP meetings a month for each school in the area and will meet anywhere from five to fifteen students a month to do an assessment. As a mother herself, and decades of professional experience, Cheryl is the vehicle not just to identify a problem before it becomes a major problem, but also help these kids get on the right path for a productive future.

As Cheryl works one-on-one, West Branch also offers the Too Good for Drugs Program (TGFD) to county schools. TGFD is a national program developed by the Mendez Foundation that is currently used by over 3,500 school districts throughout the United States. It provides developmentally appropriate curricula for each grade level through 8th grade, with a separate high school curriculum for students in grades 9 through 12. TGFD focuses on developing personal and interpersonal skills to resist peer pressures, goal setting, decision making, bonding with others, having respect for self and others, managing emotions, effective communication, and social interactions. The program also provides information about the negative consequences of drug use and the benefits of a nonviolent, drug-free lifestyle.

Programs such as these go to the heart of the troubles that arise in today’s schools. While metal detectors and resource officers are useful and necessary, identifying a potential danger and then seeking to help the struggling student will have a greater impact for change in the long term.