October 1, 2007, New York, NY -- Depending on your child’s school to be the primary source for drug prevention education may not be as effective as you thought. According to the report Prevention Education in America’s Schools (adapted by
Teachers don't have the time, training or other resources needed to do the job effectively, regardless of what the state-mandated standards say.
CESAR from Join Together), teachers don’t have the time, training or resources to effectively provide the curriculum.

"Schools should not be relied on as the primary element in the country's efforts to prevent the early initiation and consequences of alcohol and drug use," according to a recent report, Prevention Education IN America's Schools. In April 2006 an online survey was conducted with more than 3,500 teachers, school administrators, and other educators from 48 states and the District of Columbia. The survey found that while 37 states require schools to provide the drug prevention education as part of their curriculum, "teachers don't have the time, training or other resources needed to do the job effectively, regardless of what the state-mandated standards say."

Based on the survey results, an education advisory committee developed five recommendations on how to more effectively reduce and prevent drug and alcohol use among youth:

School-Based Recommendations for Preventing Alcohol and Drug Use Among Youth
• Schools should not be relied on or act as the principal provider of general prevention education. rather, they should be part of a comprehensive community prevention strategy that includes parents and other resources.
• School systems should carefully reevaluate money and time spent on outside programs and speakers and unfocused printed materials because they are likely to have no lasting impact on what students know about alcohol and drugs or on their drinking or drug taking behavior.
• Schools and communities should pursue opportunities that use prevention methods that have been shown by research to be effective and are organized for presentation within the time constraints that actually exist in most schools.
• Teachers should have easy access to materials that use prevention methods that have been shown by research to be effective and are organized for presentation within the time constraints that actually exist in most schools.
• When teachers and administrators have drug and alcohol prevention education as an explicit part of their job, their performance should be included in their formal evaluation.

For a copy of the full report, which includes specific actions for elementary, middle and high school levels, please visit the Join Together website.