BACK TO NEWS

Keys to Success program kicks off

Michaela Sumner, Reporter
Chillicothe Gazette
Published Aug. 19, 2017

More than 50 people gathered Friday evening to kick off the 2017 Keys to Success program.

The program, originally established three years ago, is designed to provide incentives to high school students who volunteer for random drug testing throughout the year, maintain decent grades, and are good students. Those who successfully complete the program are entered into a drawing at the end of the school year for prizes, in addition to other incentives throughout the year.

Although the program was originally created to be a three-year program, community members want to see it continue and expand.

Jon Saxton, Chillicothe City School District superintendent, said many people would like to see the program expand from Ross County. His goal, he said, was to build the program from the ground up and make improvements from previous years.

“There’s really not a whole lot new,” he said of Keys to Success. “We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing even better. We want to get more kids (involved).”

In its second year, the program had 377 kids involved. This year, they hope to expand that number to a minimum of 500 students.

While original expectations for Keys to Success have been met, and even exceeded in some cases, Chillicothe City Schools staff hope to see the program expand into younger grade levels. Chillicothe City Schools’ Board of Education President Steve Mullins said conversations are in progress with people who can help the district “put a program together for (elementary and middle school) age groups.”

That’s exactly what Congressman Steve Stivers talked about in his speech for the kick off event. He expressed pride in the city and the district for developing the program and cracked jokes prompting genuine laughter from the audience.

“As a congressman for 12 counties, I get to see incredible things all around the state of Ohio and to see programs like this that have been thought up by local folks, implemented by local folks, and bought into by the students and the school and the community, it’s incredible,” he said. “I’m excited to see what happens this year, but I would love to see this program expanded.”

Stivers told the crowd he’s fighting to take the program across the state and the country, and mentioned a bill passed recently which would allow partial opioid prescriptions. He also said he hoped others would emulate the program across the nation.

In addition to potentially expanding to other grades, Greg Phillips, program spokesman, said they plan to implement a movie night and community events, as well as making the program more accessible and user-friendly to parents.

“We feel it’s important to show the community we’re not just going to pee in a cup five times a year, three times a year,” he said, going on to say they’re going to help students understand they’re not defined by their worst decision, but by getting back up on their feet. He also said they hoped to break the stigma of how kids should spend their Friday nights.

Expanding the program into younger grade levels, he said, is important because keeping the program at the high school level is reactionary. A lot of kids at that age, he said, have already experimented with drugs and have already dealt with or are addicted by the high school level.

During his speech, Phillips talked about how the word “fight” is typically a bad one among teachers and other school staff. However, he expressed how in the teaching business, people fight for their students.

The Keys to Success program, he said, determined there are fights worth fighting for and that includes the lives of young people.

“It is worth fighting for the lives and the reputation of our community and our county and our district and so we’re willing to fight that fight,” he said.

In the coming years, Phillips said he hopes to have every business in Chillicothe involved in the Keys to Success program and said he and others are available for any business interested.

You can read the full story on the Chillicothe Gazette

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/2017/08/19/keys-success-program-kicks-off/581978001/