After a two-year hiatus from working at Falls High School, BethAnne Slatinski said it felt like she never left.
And while she’ll use the same office she had when she served as the school’s monitor until she resigned in 2014, this time, she’ll work in a different role.
The Falls School Board last month hired Slatinski to serve as coordinator for a planning and implementation grant. The district will act as a fiscal agent for the $1 million grant that was awarded by the state and will be disbursed over a five-year period. The focus of the grant is to combat alcohol abuse at the high school level.
“It’s good to be back,” Slatinski said last week. “I’m still getting my feet wet and have a lot to learn about this grant and map out the work I’ll be doing.”
The first year, Slatinski said, will focus mostly on gathering data and identifying specific needs. Surveys taken by students, which showed a higher-than-average use of alcohol among teens, will be factored in as work begins.
“That is one of the reasons we received this grant,” said Falls Superintendent Kevin Grover of the survey results. “It’s hard to measure whether students were being honest and if the results are 100 percent accurate, but its a start.”
Promote the positive
As everyone involved becomes familiar with the grant and its expectations, Slatinski said a main approach she and others will take is promoting positive behavior in students.
“We’re going to try to show there is a huge population of kids not drinking,” she said. “And that hopefully will help others to avoid alcohol, too.”
Stephanie Turban, who facilities a similar grant at Rainy River Community College, said when the college received its grant last year, one frustration she encountered was a lot of students it targeted were already involved in using alcohol.
“We need to educate kids younger – at the high school level,” she said. “It will help when they get to the college.”
The two institutions will work with each other and share resources as the high school’s grant takes shape.
Right person, right seat
When the search for someone to coordinate the program began, Grover said he was unsure if the ideal candidate would be local. Fortunately, Slatinski, who has a degree in criminal justice, already lives in the community and knows many people.
“I think being from here will be helpful as I get out and start talking to people,” she said. “I look at this as another tool we can give kids when they prepare themselves for the real world.”
As work begins, Slatinski will begin having conversations – the grant requires at least 50 – with different people and letters will be sent home to further educate parents on Slatinski’s role and work she’ll be doing over the next five years.
Grover said the grant is a good opportunity for the district. Other areas that have received the grant and followed its guidelines, have seen results.
“It’s not corrected overnight,” he said. “But this is a first step.”
