Winslow Criminal Justice Teacher Honored with Governor’s Volunteer Service Award

WINSLOW - April 17, 2009 - Gus Percuoco’s criminal justice students at Winslow High School have been raising eyebrows for their hard work around the community for quite some time.

Now the governor is starting to take notice.

In October, 2008, the Arizona Public Schools Making a Difference Every Day Campaign first reported on the success Percuoco’s students enjoyed when hosting an inaugural Community Awareness Red Ribbon Day. The Oct. 25, 2008 event brought together nearly 20 government organizations and community groups with the goal of educating parents, younger students and their peers about the use and misuse of legal (prescription) and illegal drugs.

Nearly 175 participants attended the event at Winslow Ford – a respectable turnout for any inaugural event in a community the size of Winslow – particularly one discussing the dangers of prescription drug abuse. As a result of that success, Percuoco will be receiving a Governor’s Volunteer Service Award in Phoenix on April 29th.

Ten recipients are honored each year with the Award, which is considered to be the highest volunteer award in the state of Arizona. Panels of judges statewide select the recipients based on the following criteria: need, action, innovation and impact.

While the award is in Percuoco’s name, he is quick to deflect all the credit to his students.

“The kids really did all the work,” Percuoco said. “I was really just there to guide them. It’s a shame we can’t take all my students with us to Phoenix for the award ceremony.

“I’ve already received the certificate. But before I hung it up, I told each class, ‘You guys are the ones who deserve this.’”

Percuoco said he plans to make the Community Awareness – Red Ribbon Day an annual event for his Winslow High School Criminal Justice classes. He was especially pleased with the impact the event had on parents.

“We wanted to make parents aware of the ways kids are gaining access to drugs,” Percuoco said. “This includes educating the parents about how they should be taking care of the prescription drugs within their homes. We put together a 22-page booklet as a handout, and offered a variety of different information on behavioral, attitude and peer group changes parents should watch for.”

Red Ribbon Week began after the kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985. In Agent Camarena's home town, Calexico, CA, the public outpouring of support turned in to an organized community response in which citizens wore red ribbons. They became a voice for prevention in order to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and illegal use of legal drugs in America.

The following year the California State PTA adopted the Red Ribbon Campaign. Then, in 1988, Red Ribbon Week was recognized nationally with President Ronald and First Lady Nancy Reagan serving as the Honorary Chairs.

Real world issues like the use and misuse of drugs are a normal occurrence for Percuoco’s criminal justice students. Rather than using a watered down curriculum, Percuoco takes his classroom material directly from a Nevada police academy.

“I’ve taken all the training from the academy and integrated it into my class,” he explained. “I’ve managed to fit about 33 weeks of instruction into about a 29-week school year.”