Local police chiefs attend White House conference

WASHINGTON — Sandwich Police Chief Doug Wyman, a local proponent for a drug education program for students at all grade levels, says he was pleased to hear strong support of the program during a recent meeting in Washington.

Wyman and Tilton Police Chief Robert Cormier attended the one-day meeting that was organized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The two chiefs were part of a contingent of law enforcement members and others to promote community drug prevention programs, including LEAD — Law Enforcement Against Drugs.

During one session the group heard from presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway, Director James Carroll of the Office of National Drug Control Police, and Vice President Mike Pence.

“The vice president is very interested in drug control police,” Wyman said. “It was refreshing to hear him and the other speakers support the LEAD program.”

LEAD, which began in the 1970s, is designed for students from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. Classes are led by trained police officers and classroom teachers. The program is evidence-based, meaning that professional agencies review the curriculum and its success rate.

Wyman was instrumental in getting the program into the Inter-Lakes School District, which includes Sandwich.

Cormier was not available to be interviewed for this story, but in an article he wrote for the website of the the bipartisan group Council for a Strong America, he discussed why he finds LEAD a successful way to reach youngsters about the issue of drugs.

“LEAD unites teachers and police officers in schools to teach a drug prevention curriculum. Throughout the school year, they take about an hour each week to co-facilitate the material, which directly addresses drugs, bullying, and violence. And to date, L.E.A.D. is the only proven effective K-12 anti-drug/anti-violence curriculum available that is delivered by law enforcement officers and also deals with opioids like fentanyl and other types of drugs like meth.”

“Part of what makes this program unique is how it enables teachers to uncover challenges in children’s lives that they may not already be aware of,” he continued. “During facilitation, it is common for many kids to share that they have close family members struggling with addiction. In many cases, it is one or both of the child’s parents. L.E.A.D. has been successful in identifying children who are struggling that would otherwise not have received additional care.”

Wyman said there are about 200 LEAD-trained instructors in the state.