BY BRENDON NESKY
Staff Writer

Baldwin High School has had the Highlander Pride awards for several years. Now the entire district has the Do the Right Thing awards.

The program, which kicked off in the district this month, aims to create a better relationship between teenagers and police officers, and also to show that good kids are newsworthy too. The idea is that students should be recognized for their behavior, accomplishments, and good deeds, Curriculum Director Andrea Huffman said.

“The program ensures that young people are not only rewarded for ‘doing the right thing,’ but also are publicly recognized as a role model for their peers,” Huffman said.

Ten students from throughout the district will be recognized each month.

The first winners from the high school are seniors Liz Lane and Luke Smorey, and junior Ryan Zemba.

The program came to the district’s attention through Whitehall police officer Dave Artman, the district’s D.A.R.E officer, who attended a special training event last summer in Harrisburg.

While he was there he learned about a program that he thought would be beneficial for the district. It began when a student in a Miami-Dade County school in Florida found a loaded gun and immediately turned it in to a teacher. Understanding how potentially devastating that could have been, the Miami police chief recognized the student for making the right decision, and from there the program grew and spread.

With the support of Supt. Dr. Randal Lutz, the school board, and parent organizations, the district has decided to adopt the program.

The award celebrates students who choose to be drug and crime free, exhibit non-violent behavior, do well in school, make a difference in their communities, and demonstrate overall turnaround behavior.

“If kids went out and tried to do the right thing, even just for the award, that’s fine too. Doing the right thing is doing the right thing,” Artman said.

Senior Liz Lane is among the first students to receive the award.

“It’s cool that I’m getting an award my senior year, especially since I’ve never heard of it before and I get to leave my mark at Baldwin,” senior Liz Lane said. “Also being one of the first nominees is great feeling too.”