Sunapee fifth graders finish police-led prevention program

Sunapee’s fifth graders closed out a 10-week prevention curriculum by receiving certificates at Sunapee Central Elementary School on May 13, marking the end of a program the town says is meant to keep problems from following students into middle school. Led by Sgt. Nicholas Boisvert of the Sunapee Police Department, the L.E.A.D. classes focused this year on communication, conflict resolution, goal setting, resisting peer pressure, resisting substance abuse, building healthy relationships and decision-making.

Town officials framed the class as a public-safety tool as much as a school lesson. The curriculum is aimed at giving children practical skills for daily life, school and friendships before they face the sharper pressures that often arrive in the middle grades. The town said the effort is part of an ongoing partnership between the police department and Sunapee Central Elementary School, whose mission is to develop lifelong learners and contributing members of society.

Boisvert is a familiar face in that partnership. He joined the Sunapee Police Department in October 2017, became a full-time officer in June 2019 and was sworn in as a sergeant on Feb. 24, 2023. The department identifies him as the school’s L.E.A.D. instructor, and records from Jan. 18, 2024, show he met with fifth-grade teachers to discuss that year’s program and confirm dates from March through May, evidence that the work has been formally built into the school calendar for multiple years.

This year’s version also carried a broader curriculum than earlier efforts. In 2026, L.E.A.D. expanded through a partnership with Botvin LifeSkills Training, an evidence-based prevention program that the town says is backed by decades of research. Botvin says its model is flexible and interactive, and that it has been extensively tested and linked to reductions in tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use. The Sunapee Police Department says L.E.A.D. is one of the nation’s fastest-growing prevention education programs, with thousands of certified instructors across the country.

For Sunapee families, the real test is whether lessons taught in fifth grade hold up when students hit the pressure points of middle school. The town says the goal is to strengthen positive relationships between officers, staff and young residents while helping students make healthier choices before discipline problems, substance use or violence become bigger issues later on. In a town where school safety and community policing are closely tied, the program now reads as part of the public-safety infrastructure, not a one-off classroom visit.