District given grant for substance abuse program

Next month Bigfork schools will get a little closer to having all of their staff certified in Student Assistance Training International's substance abuse program, thanks to a grant from Kalispell Toyota.

The program teaches school staff and community members to facilitate groups to help students deal with various issues. Although it started as a substance abuse program, it has since evolved into a program to help people deal with a long list of other issues including death, learning disabilities and other adolescent problems.

Outgoing Superintendent Russ Kinzer brought the program to the school 11 years ago. He selected this program in particular because he saw how well it worked at schools he served at in Arizona

"The entire program is so broad that it helps a wide range of students with a big variety of problems," Kinzer said. "It's a program that sets a real positive tone at a school because it teaches a humane way to treat one another amid different issues."

Since adopting the program in the Bigfork schools, Kinzer has been trying to get other schools in the Valley to participate. This year, the Whitefish district decided that it wanted to try it as well.

Whitefish and Bigfork planned to split the cost of the program. Then Kalispell Toyota approached Kinzer about aiding the school financially in light of the school's budget problems.

Kinzer submitted the substance abuse program, as well as a few other desires to them and they agreed to donate $7,500 for the program. The money will go toward training adults to run the eight-week long programs, which have alternating topics each semester.

Both the middle school counselor, Mary Ahnert, and the elementary school counselor Jennifer Wood, said they have seen positive results from the program and are looking forward to having more trained facilitators for the coming year.

"It empowers students to deal with problems in a positive and healthy way," Wood said.