Collier Fifth Grade Students Graduate from the L.E.A.D. Program

A graduation ceremony for fifth grade students in all 35 public, private and charter elementary schools in Collier County will be held on May 13 at the Parish at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School as they complete the L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence) program. L.E.A.D. is a nationwide nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence.

The children were educated by 73 deputies, corporals and sergeants that make up the Youth Relations Bureau at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, who were trained by L.E.A.D. to teach the program’s evidence-based curriculum. During the school day, they instructed the fifth graders on why avoiding drugs and violence is vital and helped them to build skills surrounding conflict resolution and effective communication, for example.

“We congratulate the fifth grade students in Collier County on a job well done completing our program, and we’re glad that they’ll be able to enjoy a well-deserved graduation ceremony,” said Nick DeMauro, CEO of L.E.A.D. “We look forward to seeing how they use their newfound knowledge on drug and violence prevention and how to set attainable goals, manage their emotions and make wise decisions that they gained through being involved in L.E.A.D.”

L.E.A.D. provides services “On The Street” and “In The Classroom” as it brings law enforcement and communities closer together. The “In The Classroom” program is taught by more than 5000 trained instructors in 45 states, who are serving more than 500,000 students in 2,500 school systems. L.E.A.D. has a proven-effective, law enforcement-focused anti-drug, anti-violence curriculum for K–12 students in the U.S. The L.E.A.D. curriculum is taught over the course of a 10-week program to educate youth on how they can make smart decisions without the involvement of drugs or violence.

The graduating students’ parents and other family members along with the fourth grade class at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School will attend the ceremony. Afterwards, the Youth Relations Bureau will bring out the L.E.A.D. car for the students and their families to view and enjoy.

The most rewarding part about teaching the L.E.A.D. program this school year, Sergeant Karen Eggleston-Negron says, has been getting to be one of the students’ mentors and benefit their lives.

“Teaching the children for ten weeks in a row has led me and the rest of the L.E.A.D. instructors in our town to build a great relationship with each student in every class,” said Sgt. Eggleston-Negron. “Once I’ve finished teaching each class that I’ve had, the kids have pleaded to have the course again in upcoming years as they had such a great time learning with me.”

“I always love getting to see my past students,” she added. “Knowing that they still remember and want to greet me is a special feeling,” she added.

Sgt. Eggleston-Negron says that she’s very proud of how much the students have learned throughout the 10-week program. 

“I know that we’ve built a strong foundation for them as they continue on with their lives,” said Sgt. Eggleston-Negron. “L.E.A.D., in addition to teaching the kids how to create goals and make good choices, taught them about the impact of having positive friends and refusal strategies for peer pressure.”

“My class loved sharing their favorite peer pressure refusal strategies with me, and they now have even more of them that they can use throughout the rest of their school careers and beyond,” she added.

The Youth Relations Bureau has worked hard to maintain its positive relationship with the students and staff at all the schools, says Sgt. Eggleston-Negron, and “being in the classroom with them by teaching the L.E.A.D. program has allowed us to build an even stronger bond with them.”