2009/01/16

Battling the drug trade is an international issue, and dramatic efforts at Washington Middle School have the attention of the government of Costa Rica.

Three cabinet-level government officials from Costa Rica visited Washington on Thursday (Jan. 15) to learn more about a drug- and gang-prevention program sponsored by the National Guard.

Minister of Public Security Janina de Vecchio Ugalde, Vice Minister Marcela Chacon and Chief of Police Forces Col. Erick Lacayo spent nearly two hours meeting with school officials and stopping by classrooms.

Ugalde said Costa Rica didn’t have a drug problem as recently as 5-10 years ago because drugs only came through her country on the way to distribution elsewhere, but now they are stopping. She said the best way to stop the trade is by cutting off demand, and that starts by educating children as young as middle school age. They learn from what they see around them.

“Families and schools are important in their lives,” said Ugalde, herself a former math teacher.

The Costa Rican government teaches safety to students in grades 1-4, but then loses track of them, Chacon said. There is no military, so it is up to the Ministry of Public Security and an 11,000-officer public police force to keep the country and its schools safe. They are exploring the best ways to keep students away from drugs, so they are exploring options considered successful in New Mexico.

The National Guard is in its third year of working with Washington students to show them they don’t need drugs or gangs in their lives, and they are getting results. Once known for problems with violence, the school has experienced a complete turnaround. Principal Cynthia Challberg-Hale said visitors have told her Washington is one of the safest in Albuquerque Public Schools.

The Guard’s area of focus, and the purpose of the grant it has received, is the Drug Demand Reduction program. At no charge to the school, the Guard provides two sergeants full-time to run the program. It has a strict, rigorous curriculum that emphasizes academic achievement, constructive activities and military-style discipline. The program’s mission is not to recruit for the Guard, stressed Sgt. Wilbert Romero, only to stamp out the demand for drugs, attacking the problem from a different angle. They give students a path to follow and watch over the school.

“We demand a lot,” said Romero, one of the full-time staff. “We’re kind of like a big brother to the school.”

The program also holds families accountable. Romero said one of the first things students do in class each day is write down assignments in an agenda. When completed, students must have parents look over their work and sign their agenda. Hale and Romero said parent involvement is one of the keys to the program’s success because everyone is communicating and working together. It’s tough, but Hale said “there is a family feel to the program.” Washington teachers and staff also are well versed in the program and use some of its methods in their classrooms.

The delegation saw students standing at attention by their desks, following orders for parade rest and taking turns speaking. They also visited math and science classes and took questions from students. Ugalde even sang along with a mariachi class.

The visitors had already met with New Mexico public safety officials, and were scheduled to meet with Gov. Bill Richardson in Santa Fe. They also were scheduled to visit a youth program in Roswell before heading back to Costa Rica.

(photo, left: Minister of Public Security Janina de Vecchio Ugalde of Costa Rica, right, meets Washington Middle School students involved in the school’s National Guard Drug Demand Reduction program. Chief of Costa Rican Police Forces Col. Erick Lacayo, second from right, was part of the visiting delegation.)