SADD members hope to make an impact on younger generation

Twenty-one Kasson-Mantorville High School students in the SADD organization spent last Friday preparing to educate fourth graders on alcohol, tobacco and peer pressure. 
The STARS program, or Students Teaching About Refusal Skills, has been utilized in Dodge County Schools for around 15 years. The program utilizes cross-age teaching to educate young children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and also provides them with skills to say “no” to peer pressure. 
“While the younger students are learning about making the right decisions and avoiding drug and alcohol usage, the SADD club members are also being reminded about the dangers of these while also learning about being role models and teachers for the community, which the younger students appreciate,” said K-M SADD Advisor Cori Ronnenberg. “Sometimes, the younger students will recognize the SADD club outside of school, and that makes them excited because they learned a lot from the training and appreciated what we did for them.” 
The STARS program is locally co-sponsored by Dodge County Public Health and the Family Services Collaborative. During the training students did team building activities to teach them about the importance of communication and leadership skills and familiarized themselves with the topics that would be discussed in each lesson.