Stopping county drug use starts with C.H.A.M.P.S.

While many believe saying no to drugs starts on the streets, in Oglethorpe County, it starts in the classroom.

Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety (C.H.A.M.P.S.) is a nonprofit started in 2003 by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association. Brent Loeffler, director of training and program coordinator, said more than 100 counties have implemented the program. 

In August 2021, Oglethorpe County was added to that list, teaching fifth-graders about illegal substances, tobacco and other serious topics including child abduction and bullying.

Loeffler said the program explains to students that “there are consequences to every single action, and as long as we can keep reinforcing that to these kids, we hope that it will continue to make (them) thrive.” 

This program, which is in its second year, is the first form of drug education in the school system since August 2014, Sgt. Samantha Mathe of the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office said.

In a county with no rehabilitation center or hospital, C.H.A.M.P.S. is the only option that provides a response to high drug activity through education in schools.

“(The students) come home and actually grill (their parents) on things like marijuana use and tobacco use,” said Mathe, who has been an instructor since 2021. “I tell them at the beginning of class, ‘Hey, don’t go home and do that,’ (but) they end up doing it, anyway.” 

Their engagement is apparent.

“(They are) always excited when I come to class, and they ask a lot of questions and seem to be really involved,” she said.

Many of Mathe’s students from last year have retained what they learned.

“(They) come up and talk to me about things that they've already experienced or things that we’ve talked about that they're going through now that they're in middle school, and that they're really glad that they have that knowledge base that I gave them in C.H.A.M.P.S.,” Mathe said.

Although it’s a new program, C.H.A.M.P.S. leaders and participants said they believe it has promise as a viable solution to curb drug use, which is a significant problem in Oglethorpe County.

Chief Magistrate Judge Megan Coile said that, by far, drug-related crimes are the most prevalent, and often lead to other types of crimes, such as theft and family disputes. 

“That’s something that's been rampant, and it's not letting up,” Coile said, “When you have a bad drug problem, you generally have legal issues with weapons or family violence a lot.” 

Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel echoes this sentiment.

“A lot of drugs are at the core of violent crime and a lot of other crimes in the community,” he said. “Drugs are (at) the center of it.”

How the program works

Mathe starts the year by introducing herself and C.H.A.M.P.S. the second week of school. Each of the week’s topics are pre-planned.

The program is incorporated on either Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday, depending on the school’s schedule, in a regular classroom.

She recently has covered methamphetamine, tobacco and marijuana, and she talked about cocaine in the beginning of April.

But the program isn’t just about drug prevention.

“(I also go over) good choices and bad choices, being a good leader and a good follower, positive and negative stress and how to conduct impulses to choices when (students) are approached by either their peers or someone else they know,” Mathe said.

Mathe teaches with enthusiasm and energy, working to engage the students in animated conversations.

During one class, students’ hands wave in the air, waiting for Mathe’s cue, to ask her questions about why people do drugs when they know it will hurt them. Mathe flashes a sympathetic glance as she calmly explains the reasoning, while students feverishly write in their workbooks.

The students each receive their own workbook containing activities including questions and answers, word searches, crossword puzzles and fact sheets for every topic. 

She also implements real-world examples from the news and her experiences in the field as an officer; anecdotes impress the children and often evoke more raised hands.

Expanding in the future

The program has a graduation ceremony every May to celebrate what the students learned. Last year, every fifth-grader — about 167 students — graduated from the program.

Mathe said it’s important for them to know that drugs, “can ultimately harm them, so they know to make better life choices.”

While the program doesn’t guarantee students will make the right choices, the chance of helping at least a few, is worth it, Loeffler said.

While Mathe describes the program as being successful, it is not a perfect solution to the county’s problem with drugs.

The C.H.A.M.P.S. program is new, so any confirmation of its effect on drug activity in the county can’t be determined. But Mathe has spoken to the Oglethorpe County School System Superintendent Beverley Levine about continuing the program with eighth and either 11th- or 12th-graders to help students to retain the information.

This issue of drug-related crimes is something Coile believes has risen in the past 10 years and predicts it will not be going down anytime soon.

In the meantime, Mathe will continue to hand out workbooks and remind students how to spell “methamphetamine,” with the hope they apply what they’ve learned.