Eatontown 6th Graders Graduate From Anti-Drug, Alcohol Classes

EATONTOWN, NJ — On June 10, the entire sixth grade class at Margaret L. Vetter Elementary School in Eatontown graduated from the Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence (L.E.A.D.) program.

This is a 10-week course during the school day to educate American pre-teens on the dangers of drugs and violence. Eatontown Police Officer Ryan Hennelly taught the course.

A formal graduation ceremony was held at the Memorial Middle School gym to recognize the students who completed the program. Through the generosity of local Eatontown businesses, the kids got to enjoy a barbeque with hot dogs and hamburgers, freshly scooped Rita’s Italian Ice and a raffle with Apple watches, laptops, bicycles and more at the ceremony — plus a visit from a State Police helicopter!

• Hamburgers and cheeseburgers were donated by Cluck U Chicken of Red Bank
• Hot dogs were donated courtesy of the Windmill
• Rita’s of Neptune donated the Italian ice

Audi of Eatontown, CDW, Galaxy Toyota, Jaguar & Land Rover of Monmouth, Sherwin Williams and Vonkattengell Transmission also all donated to the event for the children.

Officer Hennelly grew up and currently lives in Eatontown and says that he’s seen countless kids go through L.E.A.D. As he receives new batches of students, he often even knows the kids’ parents and siblings who also went through the program.

“Already having developed a connection with some of the kids’ family members makes forming a bond with the students that much more comfortable for them. It’s neat to see them grow up as young adults, some of whom now work in the school or have become firefighters or police officers,” he said. “The parents are always appreciative of what I’ve taught their children in the program. At this year’s graduation particularly, many of them thanked me individually and had me take photos with their kids.”

The police officer said teaching children about the dangers of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, social media, bullying and poor sexual decisions is so rewarding for him.

“From learning how to make good decisions to setting goals, we’re giving them information that’s going to impact the rest of their lives,” he said. “When we get into the sessions about dangerous substances, the students are able to form their own opinion about them. However, we give them the information to have the best shot at avoiding them, something that their home life may not give them the opportunity to do.”

“I’m very proud of my students as they continued to impress me each week with their eagerness to learn about the dangers of alcohol, drugs and violence," he said. "They also did an outstanding job writing their L.E.A.D. essays at the end of the program, which validated how much they learned during the ten weeks.”

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 drugs or violence.

The Eatontown Police Department has been teaching the L.E.A. program in Eatontown schools for the past 45 years.

It is done under the approval of Eatontown schools superintendent Scott McCue and Eatontown Police Chief William P. Lucia III.

“I’m grateful to be an instructor for L.E.A.D. in such an amazing community," said the police officer.