Five years ago, the Babylon School District partnered with the Suffolk Coalition to Prevent Alcohol and Drug Dependencies to form a unique anti-drug and alcohol program called COMPASS (Community, Parents, School, Students). Today, the program is still trying to fight substance abuse in the Babylon community and to make people more aware of the problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse.

"Working together we can really make a big difference," Superintendent William Bernhard said.

COMPASS met on February 10 to discuss future action plans. The meeting was attended by students, school staff, parent organizations, and various members of the community including clergy and the New York State Department of Health. The meeting was held to generate new interest in the program.

"You’ve heard the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’...well it does," Erik Price of the Department of Health said.

Price gave a presentation, telling parents and students about measures they can take to make alcohol and cigarettes harder to buy. He said that in order to prevent sales to minors, they have to go directly to store clerks and let them know they’re being watched. He also asked the students to report any merchant who they heard was selling to the underaged. "You have to reach kids through kids...not just through parents," Price said.

Efforts like this are common for COMPASS, which often brings in guests to speak to the group.

The next scheduled speaker is parenting expert Margaret Sagarese, co-author of the book, "Roller Coaster Years." A date for that event was not finalized at press time.

According to Karyn Kirschbaum of the Suffolk Coalition, the parent component of the group is the strongest. "We’d like the community and student groups to be stronger," Kirschbaum said.

Babylon eleventh-grader Kristy Rott agreed that the group is important, but needs to be stronger. "I wish there was a lot more student involvement," Rott said. "We need more peer leadering, not just the students who are selected by the teachers."

At the meeting, the students discussed how to get younger kids to see that smoking, drinking, and drugs are wrong. "We won’t solve problems overnight, but hopefully we’re improving for future generations," Rott said. "I hope by the time I graduate that there’s even more COMPASS involvement."

Bay Shore and Southampton are the only other school districts to have a COMPASS program. According to Kirschbaum, it was attempted in other areas, but was picked up in Babylon. "It really has fallen by the wayside in other communities," Kirschbaum said.

For more information on COMPASS, contact 661-5810 ext 221.