By Mike Schnitzel
The United States Department of Justice has awarded the Nassau County Police Department $153,990 to fund anti-gang education programs throughout the county. The three Valley Stream elementary districts are among 12 schools districts throughout Nassau County that will participate in the program this year, according to Lt. Ron Walsh, commanding officer of Nassau County Police community affairs.
"GREAT builds life skills into kids and teaches them conflict resolution," Walsh said. "It teaches kids to avoid drugs and gangs, and by doing this, teaches them the skills that can keep them from seeking gang membership."
According to Walsh, between 7,000 to 8,000 children in Nassau County will participate in the program this year.
"The police department brings the program to the schools to teach kids about the downsides of gang membership," said Robert Recklaus, spokesman for Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D ‹ 4th Congressional District), who helped to obtain the grant. "This program will help Nassau County in the long run."
The program was initiated in Nassau County in June 2006, with 18 police officers being trained to administer the program, Walsh said. "We have five full-time officers who go and gives these talks at schools," Walsh said. "It's a powerful message when you have uniformed police officers come into the classroom and show that they care. It's about building good citizens and giving them every opportunity to succeed."
District 30 Superintendent Larry McGoldrick believes that the program is an important one for his district's students to participate in. "When there's any kind of program that will assist children in making important decisions it's worthwhile," McGoldrick said. "The earlier you help students to make good decisions, the better."
District 24 Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale echoed McGoldrick's sentiments. "It's a good way to prevent kids from joining gangs," Fale said. "It's another component of [District 24's] total program to help kids use their emotions and abilities to stay away from potentially dangerous situations."
According to Walsh, the uniformed officers go to schools one day per week for 6 weeks. The sixth grade program lasts for 12 weeks. Walsh said that the police department works with school districts to tailor the schedules so that core curriculums are not negatively impacted by the GREAT program.
The program has an emphasis on student interaction, and each grade level involved in the program receives a workbook, Walsh said. Students learn how to deal with dangerous situations through different activities, such as acting out parts in a play where they must use their judgment to diffuse potentially dangerous situations. "One focus is to get kids to make the right choice and to realize the critical moment in decision-making," Walsh said.
A new component of the GREAT program that will start in January focuses on families. "The family component will focus on families who are deemed high risk" for having children become involved in gang activities, Walsh said. According to Walsh, the risk factors for families take into account "the area [the family] lives in, the types of activities the kids are involved in, and whether parents may have made poor decision in the past," Walsh said.
Comments about this story? Mschnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
