WACO, Texas (KXXV) — “They are extremely eager to learn when they get down here every week," said Cierra Shipley with the Waco Police Department.
Shipley was one of the driving factors in bringing the Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence program, or L.E.A.D, to Rapoport Academy.
“We just went from there and contacted L.E.A.D and asked them to come out to train us and make us instructors and then it took off,” Shipley said.
L.E.A.D is a nationwide nonprofit aiming to bring awareness on drugs and violence in local schools.
Shipley tells 25 News the way to do that is by not directly teaching them about narcotics, but by instilling a sense of respect.
“Hopefully when we instill those good practices in these kids now, it might hopefully help them choose the right path to down the right path — when they’re faced with option A or option B,” she said.
25 News spoke with Julian Caravantes and Adrian Baldrs about what their favorite part about the class was.
“If you don’t have respect bad things can happen and you can get in trouble," Caravantes said.
“I like how they teach us stuff and we get prizes — popcorn and free main event cards,” Baldrs said.
For Shipley — it’s a simple message for these students' futures.
“Just reminding them that there’s always a better option to put yourself in," Shipley said.
