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The Challenge: What is your vision for the Office? Where would you like to see the field of safe and drug-free schools heading?

Ms. Price: The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools focuses on so many things that could be perceived as the “negatives” of school life: alcohol abuse, drug use, bullying, violence, and other crises. However, we also focus on so many positives such as character education, civic engagement, and mentoring. In the best of all possible worlds, I hope we will eventually get to a place where all schools are safe and drug-free and there is no need to focus on the negatives, but I think there will always be a need for us to be engaged in the positives.

Character education and civic engagement provide the groundwork for children to understand who we are as a people, and who we are as U.S. citizens. They need that background so when they are confronted with a difficult choice, such as to engage in drugs or violence, they have the tools they need to make good decisions and a strong sense of who they want to be. Our job is to give them those tools so that they can learn and grow to have the most joyful and fulfilling lives that they can.

The Challenge: As the former executive director of the Secretary’s Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, what role do you think physical education plays in creating safer and healthier school environments?

Ms. Price: I believe it plays an extremely important role, particularly as we look to the research on the nationwide problem of overweight among children. It would be irresponsible of us to ignore the connection between physical activity and healthy weight.
If we’re going to have boys and girls who are healthy and physically active throughout their lives, we’re going to have to help them develop those skills early on. In addition, while at this time we don’t have conclusive research that connects physical activity to academic achievement, there is suggestive evidence that points to such a connection. Hopefully, over the next few years, we’ll see more research in this area and be able to build the case for how physical activity helps children succeed academically.

All of this just goes to show that we at the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools have our work cut out for us. Not only are we engaged in the important work of emergency preparedness, crisis management, and school security, but every day we’re working to give students the tools they need to live safer and healthier lives.