One School Shows Prevention Requires More Than a Health Class

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Some have criticized the program as too expensive -- about $8,000 a child per year; most of the program is financed by private contributions. But isn't this the kind of public school education that every student ought to be receiving? Compared with the cost of AIDS and teen pregnancy alone, it may well be the bargain of a lifetime.

The results for the program in other cities have been impressive. According to the Children's Aid Society, teen pregnancy is down by 50 percent; high school graduation rates are up. Of the 5,000 teenagers enrolled in the program through 2003, none reported testing positive for HIV.

One of the program's offerings is called the Power Group, a cross between a personal empowerment seminar and a vocabulary class.

"Can anyone tell me what 'cooperation' means?" Leslie Carper, a mental health specialist who runs the Power Group at the academy, asked her class recently. A student named Monique threw up a hand.

"It means we're all in this together," she said.

You won't find a better answer anywhere.

E-mail:milloyc@washpost.com

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