By LINDA CONNER LAMBECK
Connecticut Post
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Luis Munoz Marin School fourth-grader Bartosz Orlowski can’t speak English yet, but he dutifully wrote down tips on how to resist peer pressure, copying the words Officer Jeff Babey wrote on the blackboard.
During the 45-minute session, the students in the bilingual classroom read skits from a booklet, brainstormed on ways to react if someone told them a rumor, and briefly touched on the topic of bullies before ending with a snack.
Then Babey packed his supplies onto a cart and moved on to the next class.
There have been days when he has given six consecutive lessons in this program known as GREAT, or Gang Resistant Education and Training.
A school-based program taught by uniformed police officers in grades four through eight, GREAT is to gang violence and bullies what DARE -- Drug Abuse Resistance Education -- was to efforts in the 1980s and ‘90s to dissuade students from drinking, smoking and using illegal drugs.
Though popular, DARE faded from the scene in Bridgeport and other communities after several studies determined the program to be largely ineffective in preventing substance abuse.
Early indications are that GREAT’s impact may be minimal as well.
Developed in 1991 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Phoenix Police Department, GREAT has been studied by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The study showed over a five-year span that students who get GREAT instruction are more likely to have a negative view of gangs, a more favorable attitude about police, and hang out with friends engaged in positive activities. They also were less likely to be victims.
Yet, the program seemed to have no effect on gang membership or delinquent behavior.
The evaluation, conducted in the 1990s, led to changes in GREAT program’s content and the addition of a family training component. A new study is now under way.
In the meantime, school districts across the nation are adopting the program because it is accompanied by large federal grants.
Melvin Wearing, director of security for Bridgeport’s schools, said GREAT is funded with a $139,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The grant paid for officer training and materials. Three school police officers -- including Babey -- and six other Bridgeport police officers who work in the schools received the training.
Last year, the program reached about 300 students at Curiale, Longfellow, Marin, Blackham and Roosevelt schools. This year, Dunbar and Batalla have been added to the list.
The target audience among students is those in grades four through eight.
In grades four and five, students get six lessons. The focus is on making good decisions, controlling anger, practicing communication skills and identifying bullies -- and adults to turn to when they need help.
In one class, Babey has students come up one by one to practice how to say ‘no’ like they mean it -- with arms folded and a strong voice -- while he tries to entice them to go to the mall or get into a stranger’s van.
Asked what he thinks the program is supposed to do, Genesis Rivero, 9, said it’s teaching him to do good things and not bad. He added he hasn’t run into any bullies at Marin, but has witnessed some teasing. “First, I would tell them to stop. If they keep doing it, I tell a grown-up,” Genesis said.
Babey covers as much ground as he can during a lesson, but often the conversations veer off into issues students want to share.
“They’ll talk about a shooting in their neighborhood, about being afraid. I tell them school is a safe haven,” he said.
Mariusz Gruchola, 9, raises her hand to tell about a fight she saw.
Eleazar Maiseot, 8, told of a cousin who got into trouble with a BB gun.
Kevin Lee, 10, confides he has had problem with a sixth-grader every day when they line up to enter school.
“He’ll punch me and slap my hand and push me,” Kevin said.
Babey promised to look into the report.
At the seventh- and eighth-grade level, GREAT covers 13 weeks. The focus is on preventing crime, violence and gang involvement.
Students in those grades talk about gangs, why they exist and how gangs can have an impact on the quality of life. They practice how to say no, how to control their anger and how to consider someone else’s point of view.
“Gangs do recruit here. As young as 13 and 14,” Babey said.
When the discussion turns to gang colors and clothes, “They’ll say we know Latin Kings are gold and black,” he added.
Babey said the East Side, where Marin is located, is a mixed territory for gangs, with Bloods, Crypts, Kings and various family gangs vying for members.
Like DARE, the GREAT program ends with a graduation and a T-shirt.
At a recent meeting of the Board of Education’s security committee, Wearing was asked if there are tangible signs that GREAT is making an impact.
Wearing told of one instance where a youngster who went through the program took the proper steps when he came upon a fake gun by notifying school officials and not touching it. The district hopes to institute the family component of the grant this summer, which Wearing said will make the program more effective.
“It’s kind of early,” Wearing added. “But youngsters enjoy the company of police officers. We hope we can keep it going as long as we can.”
Linda Conner Lambeck, who covers regional education issues, can be reached at 330-6218.
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