L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence), a nationwide nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence, awarded “Tennessee Instructor of the Year” to Billy Walters, a patrol officer at Greene County Sheriff’s Office. The award was announced at L.E.A.D.’s Eighth Annual 21st Century Drug and Violence Prevention Training Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was presented to PTL Walters for his outstanding work instructing kids, during the school day, on the proven effective curriculum implemented by L.E.A.D.
“PTL Walters truly deserves this award, and we congratulate him on a great job educating kids in Greeneville about harmful substances, such as drugs and alcohol, and why steering clear of them is vital,” said Nick DeMauro, CEO of L.E.A.D. “We’re confident that PTL Walter’s instruction is helping us to accomplish our goal of strengthening police-community relationships as he’s allowing students to take away crucial life skills as they learn how to set goals, manage their emotions and make good decisions, in addition to learning about the dangers of drugs and violence.”
L.E.A.D. provides services “On the Street” and “In the Classroom” as it brings law enforcement and communities closer together. The “In the Classroom” program is taught by 3800 trained instructors in 41 states. L.E.A.D. has a proven effective, law enforcement-focused anti-drug, anti-violence curriculum for K-12 students in the U.S. The L.E.A.D. curriculum is taught over the course of a 10-week program to educate youth on how they can make smart decisions without the involvement of drugs or violence.
Greene County Sheriff’s Office has 15 police officers that are teaching L.E.A.D. in Greeneville to students in kindergarten through the eighth grade, and at the conference, another three officers became certified to teach the program. PTL Walters has been a L.E.A.D. instructor for two years, instructing 130 seventh graders at South Greene Middle School. He says the most gratifying aspect about the program is having the opportunity to give kids pivotal information that they may not receive at home.
“The students’ families may think that seventh graders are too young to learn about the effects of alcohol and drugs, but the amount of kids beginning to use these detrimental substances is incredibly alarming,” said PTL Walters. “It’s crucial that their children learn about the dangers of them at an early point in their lives, and L.E.A.D. allows us to accomplish just that.”
PTL Walters adds that since the kids are often exposed to alcohol, drugs and violence through their peers, the L.E.A.D. curriculum is valuable as it shows them that becoming involved with these matters shouldn’t be the norm.
“Although the students may be pressured by their friends who are engaging in harmful substances, the program allows them to understand that participating in these activities will not live up to what they were influenced to believe. The curriculum displays the effects that alcohol and drugs will have on their bodies and, as a result, helps to prevent the students from taking part in them,” said PTL Walters “The kids like learning the subject matter as they know it’ll only benefit them, and helping them to avoid making a poor decision that could hinder their future is really neat.”
Luckily, the Greeneville community is supportive of law enforcement, but L.E.A.D. is making the relationship between the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and folks in the town even stronger, says PTL Walters.
“We’re thankful that the people in Greeneville already appreciate us as they recognize that we’re helping to keep the community safe, but building a rapport with school children has led the bond between our police officers and the community to further develop,” he said. “Originally, some of the students are afraid to have an officer as their teacher, but as the program goes on, they love having us come into their classroom and begin to view us as people that they can rely on. I probably get about 200 high fives a day, which is a rewarding feeling.”
About L.E.A.D.
L.E.A.D. provides the leadership, resources and management to ensure law enforcement agencies have the means to partner with educators, community leaders and families. L.E.A.D. succeeds by providing proven effective programs to deter youth and adults from drug use, drug related crimes, bullying and violence. L.E.A.D. is committed to reinforcing the mutual respect, goodwill and relations between law enforcement and their communities. For more information, visit www.leadrugs.org.
