03-04-2025
North View Elementary School hosts GameChanger dinner promoting drug prevention education
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) – GameChanger, a leading anti-drug initiative in West Virginia schools, hosted a dinner Wednesday evening at North View Elementary School.
During the event, GameChanger officials provided resources to guardians and children in attendance, emphasizing the importance of drug prevention efforts within the school system. The program works with schools to implement and sustain student peer leadership programs in order to help children make healthy choices regarding alcohol, opioids and other substances.
A documentary on fentanyl titled 'One Pill Can Kill' provided recognition to the GameChanger program.
'We are trying to get it from kindergarten all the way to high school. We're teaching, 'hey, one pill can kill, all it takes is that one time.' So, the documentary is about 45 minutes long. The classes, our third through fifth graders, are required to watch it here,' North View Elementary School counselor and GameChanger coach Tommy Retton said.
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Currently, GameChanger is available for all schools at no cost. As a youth-led prevention and community development initiative, GameChanger focuses on education, support and empowerment.
'The community as a whole is very important because we are able to funnel this information and kind of give an education. I know, even as a school counselor, I learn these things in school, but when you're in the community, you're seeing that this resource does this or this group does this, and I think education is very important,' Retton added.
In fifth grade, North View Elementary has GameChanger leaders, and they help Retton by going into the classrooms and teaching lessons to their peers. Retton explained that the idea of peer-to-peer mentorship helps youth leaders become lifelong community leaders.
'As we're raising up these leaders in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, our goal is not to keep them in school. It's to send them out into the community. And so, we are always thinking long term,' Retton said. 'Our fifth graders are going to be adults someday. They're going to be parents. They're going to be husbands and wives. They're going to be employees in the community. And so, if they can learn to have a strong foundation now, just imagine what they'll do in the community when they can begin to teach prevention to the younger generation and teach these tools they're giving themselves.'
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