Alaska National Guard members share anti-drug & tobacco message with Klatt Elementary students

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Members of the Alaska National Guard say that in being part of a Klatt Elementary assembly, students will end up deciding to say no to drug and tobacco products.

The assembly — which also featured representatives from the American Lung Association, Drug Enforcement Administration, Anchorage Police Department and Alaska State Troopers — also delivered an anti-bullying message.

What would end up being a surprise for the students Monday came as school leaders wrapped up Red Ribbon Week, the longest-running drug and violence prevention program in the United States.

“[The Red Ribbon Week assembly is] really important, because it’s creating a positive interaction with our law enforcement folks,” Master Sgt. Elijah Gutierrez, with the Alaska National Guard counterdrug support program, said. “It’s also planting these initial seeds of making healthy choices and living healthy lifestyles. And so it’s having that early conversation.”

The conversation took place following a week where Klatt principal Kelsey Deiman-Szymanski says students were taught about living a drug-free and healthy lifestyle, which included participating in activities and decorating the school with a theme of, “Life is a movie, film drug-free.”

“The importance of Red Ribbon Week is teaching our students about living a drug-free life, and so they have the prerequisites of saying yes or saying no, and hopefully they’re learning those skills to be able to stand up for themselves,” Deiman-Szymanski said. “There’s a lot of factors that, as children, we didn’t face that they may face this day and age. And so just learning those skills of what they are, and having the willpower to speak for themselves.”

The assembly started in the school‘s gymnasium. Students had engaged with members of the Guard and American Lung Association, which included seeing the distinction between healthy lungs and a smoker’s lungs.

Deiman-Szymanski says while she feels her students received the message well, she emphasized how it helps to have messengers, like Alaska National Guard and law enforcement members.

“It’s important for our community members to also talk to the kids, so they’re hearing the message from multiple different avenues, but also that there’s many jobs and careers out there that support people, and they have an avenue in life that they could find interest in that also spread the message, being living a drug-free life,” she said.

After about 30 minutes inside, the students bundled up and went out to the playground where they were served a special treat.

“The helicopter is super fun,” Gutierrez said. “This is our second year doing it, it takes a lot of coordination, but it really is these big moments about how they’re going to feel about the event, how they’re going to remember this event. And so we’re hoping that our messaging sticks with those big, fun things in there.”

A helicopter did a few flyovers before landing in a field outside of Klatt. Students were delighted to see the helicopter and feel the raw power of its blades blowing snow in their faces.

“It was really fun,” 5th-grader Benjamin Recinos-Caldera said. “I could finally see a real helicopter, especially from the military land right in our school. I was like, what?

“And like military vehicles. I‘m like, what? This is like, bro, I can’t imagine it. It’s like, it’s so great. Just unbelievable.”

His classmate, Camrynn Rogers, had never seen a helicopter up close either. Both students were giddy with excitement, but Rogers talked about a big takeaway for her from the past week.

“[We need to] stomp out bullying and not being mean to others, and be kind and be supportive of others, and don’t be rude,” she recalled.

“It’s really important to do [Red Ribbon Week], because if we didn’t have it, maybe there would be a lot of bullying,” Rogers said. “Also, if we didn’t have it, people would get hurt. They could die because they have drugs.”

Students say the message was delivered and received.

Deiman-Szymanski says she’s proud of her students and grateful to the members of our community who showed up in a big way.

“We have the community, we have the staff, and we have the kids. We’re all saying the same thing, so hopefully that message is clear,” she said.

The message, Gutierrez says: say no to drugs.

“Making healthy choices now leads to better improvements down the road,” Gutierrez said. “So you want to keep as many doors open for you as for yourself as you can.”

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