Bradford Elementary Students are ‘Too Good for Drugs’

Bradford Elementary students in kindergarten through fourth grade recently completed the Too Good for Drugs (TGFD) program. This evidence-based, ten-week program was provided by Gretchen Silliman, a Prevention Educator for the Council on Alcoholism and Addictions of the Finger Lakes (CAAFL), and Nathan Fish, the PE teacher from Bradford Elementary.

TGFD is a ten-lesson substance abuse prevention curriculum used in kindergarten through eighth grade. The program provides education in social and emotional competencies and reduces risk factors while building protective factors that affect students in that age group. Instructional strategies include role-plays, modeling, practicing, reinforcing, providing feedback, and promoting the generalization of skills to other contexts, all of which promote cooperative learning and skill-building. TGFD provides normative education, teacher tips, and a parent component to make both the school and family environments more supportive of drug-free choices.

“The Too Good for Drugs program has been shared with BCS students for several years now” stated Bradford Central School Superintendent John Marshall “We are grateful for the opportunity to educate our students about the dangers associated with drug usage and for the continued efforts of SCCUDD to help empower our students and keep them safe and healthy.”

“It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with the Bradford students and staff on the evidence-based Too Good for Drugs program,” said Silliman “The K-4th grade students worked hard, had fun, and learned a lot. In addition to learning about the damaging effects of nicotine use, alcohol use, and medicine misuse, the students strengthened their social-emotional skills. These included: setting goals, forming healthy relationships and supports, managing emotions, resisting peer pressure, and making healthy choices.”

SCCUDD is a group of dedicated community members, businesses, and agencies that work to prevent, reduce, and delay the onset of substance use among Schuyler County youth by collaborating with our community partners, promoting prevention education and substance-free activities, and implementing environmental strategies. SCCUDD works to reduce youth’s use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs as they can cause lifelong problems. SCCUDD’s vision is a connected community where youth have education, resources, and drug-free options to help their journey to become happy, healthy adults.