It is not often that a "parent program" comes along that has the ability to capture the interest, enthusiasm and commitment of over 30 high school parents and leave such a positive impact. The program is entitled Parent Decide. We, the participating parents whose children primarily attend grades eight through 12, unanimously agree on the program's power to enlighten, motivate and educate us on the topic of drug and alcohol abuse by our youth. Led by Dr. Ron Savarese, a noted expert in the field of substance abuse, Parent Decide, which required both a monetary and time commitment, addressed the growing concern of parents and our community as a whole: How do we help our children to be drug and alcohol free?

The 14-hour course explored many topics, including:

* The physiological effects of alcohol and today's "popular" drugs;

* What is happening in the schools and communities on LI including the East Williston School District;

* How to talk to your teenagers about drugs and alcohol; and

* Strategies for developing an alcohol and drug-free culture in our own community.

Students from Wheatley joined us to share their experiences and parents were given the opportunity to role play the sensitive conversations on substance abuse. The candid exchange of information about what is really happening in our schools and our community was sometimes shocking, and the ideas that came from that exchange helped to enlighten and motivate all of us. The course objective is this: to educate parents, teachers and administrators in the hopes that a comprehensive drug control strategy can be developed for our community. This is an important step to solving the problem.

Based on the feedback of the course, the objective is not out of our reach. We urge parents who missed this program to watch for notices of future Parent Decide meetings and make it their priority to attend. Our district's commitment to helping our children stay drug and alcohol free can only gain strength if all of us join together.

For additional information, call Patti Kantro (742-1151), Linda Bruh (621-6025) or Rick Simon, principal of the Wheatley School (876-4701). We hope you will join us in building an educated, proactive parent community that will protect our children.

Linda Bruh, Patti Kantro, Louise Bosnack,

Susan Bergtraum, Maureen Bianco, Lucy Cohen,

Joyce Figman, Carolyn Grinfeld, Ellen Harra,

Aida Hitti, Bhavani Jaroff, Barbara Justiz,

Joseph Justiz, Gwen Kalikow, Annette Korecki,

Maribeth Kraus, Helene Lurie, Denise Loguercio,

Mary Marissael, Sherri Mayrsohn, Heidi Miller,

Joan Miller, Shelley Mitzner, Laurel Nachman,

Patsy O'Keefe, Betty Radler, Ellen Ritz,

Hemda Robinson, Deidre Schiela, Ruth Silverstein,

Julie Wasserman, Cheryl Yarmus