Story #7

Dr. Cynthia Anderson
Staff Development Director
Griffin/Spalding School District, GA

“Since we began using Choosing the Best WAY, PATH, and LIFE, we’ve had to overcome only one major hurdle: The teachers want to teach it to everyone. Our grant requires us to have a control group [that doesn’t receive this instruction], and the teachers struggle with that, because they have finally found a resource they feel good about using. Generally the response has been, ‘This is wonderful,’ and the curriculum is user-friendly for students as well as teachers. It is so real that the children get excited, and the activities make such a sensitive topic easier to teach.

“High school peer leaders assist with delivering the instruction, which has been a great experience. We have offered the CTB Parent Training Program in our two high schools with great feedback from the parents. Parent members who could not attend the parenting sessions said, ‘I wish I had been there. When will you have another one?’ We are looking at asking agencies in the area to host a meeting, because this is more than a school issue—it’s a community issue.”