Contacts:
Veronica V. Sopher, AISD, 817-459-7343
Amy George, MADD, 469-420-4493 or 214-621-1011 Cell

IRVING, Texas (May 4, 2004) - Governors' spouses and other representatives of the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free from 11 states today visited Swift Elementary School students to see them learn an important lesson about how and why to say no to childhood drinking. The Leadership joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) National President, Wendy J. Hamilton, and Arlington ISD to observe trained high school students teach MADD's alcohol use prevention curriculum, Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM), to 1-5 graders.

"I am eager to watch elementary students learn valuable, possibly life-changing lessons to help them make the right decision to stay alcohol free, and to observe high school students act as wonderful role models for the younger children in sending this important message," said Lori Hauser Holden, co-chair, Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free and First Lady of Missouri. "It's important for states to bring proven effective alcohol prevention programs, like Protecting You/Protecting Me, to their schools to help protect children from the dangers of underage alcohol use."

PY/PM is a nationally recognized, research science-based curriculum, named a "Model Program" by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. PY/PM is the only curriculum of its kind that educates 1-5 grade children about the impact of alcohol on the developing brain and how to protect themselves if they are ever faced with having to ride with an alcohol-impaired driver. Nationally, two out of three children killed in alcohol-related crashes were riding with a drinking driver from 1997 to 2002.

Wendy Hamilton, MADD's national president, said, "Protecting You/Protecting Me is unique in Texas in that elementary students can learn Protecting You/Protecting Me lessons from high school students, who are viewed as role models. Having high school students teach the lessons reinforce the positive messages about saying no to alcohol for the high school students as well as for the elementary students."

This youth implementation model of Protecting You/Protecting Me is taught by high school junior and senior students who are enrolled in a peer helping course that is classroom- and curricular-based and credit-bearing. The students are selected through a systematic and rigorous process and must commit to remaining alcohol, tobacco and drug free. To date, 1,458 Texas high school students have been trained to deliver PY/PM since this model began in 2001.

Recently, underage drinking hearings have been held as a result of Texas Speaker of the House Tom Craddick's charge to conduct an interim study to reduce youth alcohol use across the state. Statistics show alcohol is the No. 1 drug problem among the nation's youth killing 6.5 times more young people than all other illicit drugs combined.

"Protecting You/Protecting Me allows AISD students in both elementary and secondary curricula to benefit from each other's perspectives and communication skills," said Veronica V. Sopher, AISD spokesperson. "Our elementary students look up to their high school instructors and truly take their message to heart. Likewise, our high school students get a first-hand glimpse at the powerful impact they have on our youth."

On average kids ages 12 to 17 begin to drink at 13 years old. In 2001, nearly 300 youth ages 15 to 20 years old died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in Texas. This accounted for 48 percent of all Texas traffic fatalities for this age group.

ABOUT MADD MADD has helped save nearly 270,000 lives since its founding 1980. With more than 600 affiliates and chapters nationwide, 2 million members and supporters, and as the largest provider of crime victims' services, MADD is the premier anti-drunk driving organization. For more information, please visit www.madd.org or www.pypm.org.

ABOUT LEADERSHIP Founded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free is a unique coalition of Governors' spouses, Federal agencies, and public and private organizations committed to preventing the use of alcohol by children ages nine to 15. For more information, please visit www.alcoholfreechildren.org.

ABOUT AISD Arlington ISD is one of the largest school districts in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, with more than 62,000 students and more than 7,500 employees. Twenty-four percent of AISD teachers have graduate degrees with the average years of experience is ten. AISD has 35 Exemplary and Recognized campuses and has one of the lowest tax rates in North Texas. For more information, please visit www.aisd.net.

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