PROMISES PLANTED

Hoffman Students Put Tulips In Ground, Symbolizing Drug-Free Pledges

For students at Bessie Hoffman Elementary in Belleville, saying no to
drugs means getting your hands dirty.

Students recently "Planted the Promise" with 600 red tulip bulbs
adjacent to the Lincoln Consolidated School's playground. The bulbs,
which will flower next spring, were planted to serve as a visual
reminder to students of their written pledge to stay drug, alcohol
and tobacco free throughout their lives.

Judy Taylor, who teaches a second- and third-grade split, explained
to her class that the tulips are a metaphor for their lives and that
like the plant, they will flower if they can stay drug free. It's a
message that sunk in with one of her students.

"It's really important to make sure you don't do it when you are a
teenager," said Rod Hook, a third-grader who helped his parents till
the soil for the plantings. "I've learned not to drink or take drugs
or use tobacco."

The event was part of Hoffman's Red Ribbon Week. The Florida-based
National Family Partnership began Red Ribbon Week in 1986 as a way of
honoring Enrique Camarena, an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency who was kidnapped and killed while investigating suspected
drug traffickers.

At Hoffman, school social worker Pam Gharaibeh coordinated Red Ribbon
activities. Besides planting the tulips, students took part in
programs called Hugs not Drugs, Give Drugs the Slip, Team Up against
Drugs and Get a Clue, Drugs aren't for You.

Elementary school is the perfect age to reach children, Gharaibeh said.

"You get more bang for your buck with kids at an earlier age," she
said. "We think it's better to do prevention now rather than
intervention later."

All of Hoffman's 300 students got a chance to plant a tulip bulb.
Each also made a three-part, written pledge. Students promised to
make healthy food choices, take care of their bodies and say no to drugs.

Each student received a Red Ribbon Week bracelet for making the
pledge and planting a tulip.

Roxane Hook, Rod's mother, was impressed with the school's effort to
educate students away from drugs.

"They're not just doing the minimum," she said. "I think it's great
that they're focusing on Red Ribbon Week. Any time the kids can put
their hands in something, they're going to remember it better. They
will remember planting the tulips long after this event."

While Hook and her family tilled the soil for Planting the Promise,
Gharaibeh also received other help. Belleville Greenhouse & Nursery
and the local Meijer Thrifty Acres each donated 300 tulip bulbs.

"There were Planting the Promise kits that included everything, but
they were very expensive," Gharaibeh said. "We're very grateful for
the donations we received."