Gorton Junior High School: Student Assistance Program

Gorton Junior High School, along with 20 other senior high schools and 24 middle/junior high schools, has a Student Assistance Program. The program is provided by RIEAP, Inc. Student Assistance Services which is funded by the Rhode Island Department of Health and Federal Drug-Free Grants obtained by the school department. The Student Assistance Program is a substance abuse prevention and early intervention program. The program provides alcohol and drug education and supportive counseling services to students in our school. The goals which the program is designed to accomplish are:

To prevent the development of alcohol and drug abuse among students.

To reduce the incidence of alcohol and drug related problems among students.

Marge Johnson is the Student Assistance Counselor at Gorton Junior High. She works three days per week at Gorton. Ms. Johnson has a Master's Degree in Counseling and Family Studies and a Master's Degree in Education. She has years of previous experience working with adolescents in many capacities (teacher, counselor, wilderness instructor, life coach) in addition to specialized training in prevention and early intervention strategies with youth.

Ms. Johnson is available to see students who are using alcohol or drugs or have personal, school or family problems that could lead to alcohol, drug abuse or unhealthy behaviors. If you are worried about your child's behavior and would like to speak to the Student Assistance Counselor and/or have the Student Assistance Counselor see your child, please call her directly at 734-3360 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. All calls are confidential.

This program has helped many students make responsible choices, educates students about the dangers of drug abuse and has helped others get outside help for related problems. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Assistance Program and make continuing improvements, anonymous data is periodically collected from participating students.