[Hart District] – The Hart School District has scheduled an online free webinar for Tuesday, May 8, 2012 from 6:15 – 7:45 pm, to educate parents and students about drugs that are being used by students in local neighborhoods. This is the fifth in an ongoing series and will focus on alcohol use and abuse. Visit https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/951212022 to register.

The District’s drug awareness and education program, called CADRE (Comprehensive Alcohol and Drug Reduction and Education), in coordination with Medtox Laboratories have developed a program to help parents and students understand these issues, encourage prevention and provide support.

With the current school year coming to an end, this is the opportune time to revisit and update Hart District families with contemporary information covered in previous webinars this year. Discussion will include designer drugs, opiates (Heroin, Oxycontin, prescription pain medications), marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids (such as K2 spice,) alcohol use and abuse, and many other drugs both legal and illicit that are plaguing society.

The webinar will also look at the impact social media has on youth and drug usage.

“The District is committed to helping our community, parents and students to become drug free and drug aware,” Kathy Hunter, Coordinator of Student Services said. “We are continuing our very informative webinar series and will continue to add information on the District’s website to better inform and educate parents.”

The CADRE program empowers students by giving them a reason to say NO to illegal drug and alcohol use and also provides parents with assurances that their sons or daughters are not using drugs or alcohol. CADRE offers voluntary random drug testing which gives students a reason to say NO to drug use, while promoting a safe and drug-free school environment and encouraging responsible decision making.

Additionally, CADRE offers seminars to educate students and parents about the types of drugs used and abused in the school community and how to detect signs of drug or alcohol use. CADRE also offers counseling support by an approved licensed drug counselor when drug use has been detected.

CADRE is a voluntary program of the Hart School District. More information is available on the District’s website: http://hartdistrict.org/index.php/students/cadre

The webinar will be posted for future viewing on the above website approximately two weeks following the presentation. The previous three webinars are available for viewing on the website.

The Hart School District works closely with the SCV Sheriff’s Department and the City of Santa Clarita in a pro-active approach to keep students safe and drug free, through education and school and citywide programs.