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4.4. SR 06-04-2001Police Department Item ~ 4.4. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor and City Council Thomas D. Zerwas, Chief of Police May 29, 2001 D.A.R.E. Update Over the past several months, there has been discussion around the United States regarding how effective D.A.R.E. has been. The end result was that D.A.ILE. America decided to change the Dak. R.E. curriculum and address some of the concerns. Information we have received stated that it could take up to five (5) yeats before any solid information is gathered on how the new curriculum will impact the students. As a result of D.A.R.E. America's actions, a meeting was held with school district staff. The meeting centered on what should be done if D.A.1LE. is put on hold for the time being. The tentative agreement through a collaborative effort is to assist the school district with a new program called Project Alert. See the attached document, which will provide you with an introduction and overview of the program. Project Alert would be less officer intensive than D.A.1LE. has been. Elementary D.A.R.E. consisted of our officer spending seventeen (17) weeks (one hour per week) in each 5~ grade class. Project Alert would consist of the officer spending approximately three (3) weeks (one hour per week) with all 6~ graders, approximately two (2) weeks (one hour per class) with the 7t~ graders and approximately one (1) session with each 8~ grade class. The program would provide our officers with the opportunity to interact with the students. Interaction is very important to me and I hope to see it continue. I am, therefore, asking for your support to suspend the D.A.R.E. program indefinitely and allow us to work collaborafively with the Elk River Area School District in implementing Project Alert. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me. Contents Introduction and Overview of Program Core Program Lesson 1 Introduction to Project ALERT Lesson 2 Consequences of Smoking Cigarettes and Marijuana Lesson 3 Drinking Consequences and Alternatives Lesson 4 Introduction to Pressures Lesson 5 Social Pressures to Use Drugs Lesson 6 Resisting Internal and External Pressures to Use Drags Lesson 7 Practicing Resistance Skills Lesson 8 Inhalant Abuse Lesson 9 Review and Practice of Resistance Techniques Lesson 10 Smoking Cessation Lesson 11 Benefits of Not Using Drugs Booster Program Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Motivating Resistance to Drags Practice Resisting External and Internal Pressures Benefits of Resisting Drags Drug Information and Resources Alcohol Tobacco Marijuana Inhalants Cocaine Methamphetamine LSD OTC, Herbal and Dietary Supplements Resource Directory Teen Leader Program (Optional) Introduction Working With Teen Leaders: An Overview Sample Recruitment and Selection Forms The Training Program Training Sessions Teen Leader Notebook 21 37 49 63 77 87 101 109 117 129 135 147 165 183 193 195 201 209 215 225 231 235 237 241 Introduction and Overview of Program This package contains curriculum materials for Project ALERT, a 14-lesson drug prevention program for middle grade students. Project ALERT, adapted from a curriculum developed and tested by RAND, is periodically reviewed by the RAND team and the materials are continuously updated. Longitudinal studies have proven the program effective at helping young people identify and resist pressures that lead to experimentation with drugs, and at preventing teenage experimenters from becoming regular drug users. An integrated curriculum, Project ALERT is organized into fourteen weeldy lessons - eleven lessons in the core program and three booster lessons to be taught the following year. The materials in this package include lesson plans, videos, posters, and homework assignments to be reproduced as handouts. The introduction first describes the philosophy underlying the curriculum - the principles and teaching strategies that guided its design. The program's credentials are presented as evidence of its drug prevention effectiveness. Program Philosophy Middle grade students are a group vulnerable to social influences but not yet heavy users of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, or other drugs. The goal of Project ALERT is to reduce the use of those dangerous substances by keeping nonusers from trying them and by preventing nonusers and experimenters from becoming regular users. Underlying Assumptions Five assumptions undergird Project ALERT. Each is listed here, along with a descrip- tion of how it is reflected in the curriculum. Assumption 1: Adolescents start using drugs primarily because of social influences (peers, parents, siblings, media) and because they want to emulate behavior they view as mature and independent. Implementation: The curriculum helps adolescents resist those social influences, by (1) countering arguments that drug use is widespread and desirable (most people don't smoke; drugs don't make you mature, independent), and (2) teaching students specific resistance skills. A unique feature of Project ALERT is its emphasis on help- ing students identify internal as well as external pressures to use drugs. Young adoles- cents frequently fail to recognize the subtle but powerful ways we put pressure on ourselves - even when no one is specifically trying to influence us ("I'll be left out if[ don't act like the others."). Short psychodramas graphically portray these "pressures from inside ourselves;' and role-playing exercises help students learn techniques for resisting them. Introduction and Overview I 1 Assumption 2: Drug prevention programs must help students develop the motiva- tion to resist using drugs. Teaching resistance skills alone is not enough. Implementation: The curriculum motivates nonuse through appeals that (1) relate directly to adolescents (stress immediate and social consequences of use), (2) make use of teenagers' vulnerability to social norms (most teens don't do it), and (3) are presented by credible communicators (older teenagers and helpful teachers). Research on adolescents indicates that teenagers tend to discount long-term risks and overestimate drug use among their peers. To provide greater motivation, there- fore, Project ALERT stresses how drugs can affect students no,v, in their daily lives and social relationships. It also counters the belief that "everyone uses" with actual statistics showing that users are in the minority. Further, the structure of each lesson and the teaching process are designed to increase learning and motivation. Studies have shown that the following four factors help increase motivation and build resistance skills: · providing discrete or proximal goals that can be achieved in a single class lesson; · actively involving students in the learning process; · developing skills through demonstration and practice; and, · encouraging self-efficacy through positive and task-specific feedback. These four factors are an integral part of the curriculum. Assumption 3: Drug prevention programs should target substances that are used first and most widely by young people. Implementation: Because adolescents typically start using alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and inhalants before they try other drugs, Project ALERT focuses on these four substances. It also provides material on cocaine, PCP, and other dangerous substances that middle grade students should be warned about. Assumption 4: Much adolescent behavior stems from modeling the behavior of admired others - in particular, older teenagers who are dose in age and, therefore, understand their concerns but have the authority of greater experience. Implementation: Videos portray older teenagers discussing why they say "no" and displaying resistance skills. Teachers are encouraged to describe how they resist pres- sures to use. Assumption 5: Adolescents are much more likely to absorb new information and learn new skills when they are actively involved in the learning process. Implementation: The curriculum promotes student involvement by (1) eliciting students' responses rather than didactically explaining facts and values to them, and (2) using such techniques as role-playing, games, and small group discussion to fos- ter student participation and reinforce skills. Core Curriculum · Project ALERT Teaching Strategies How Project ALERT is taught is as important as what is taught. The following strate- gies, drawn from research on effective learning and behavior change, are critical to successful program delivery and have been designed into the curriculum: Resistance Sel~Efflcacy Self-efficacy is an individual's belief that he or she is capable of accomplishing a particular task. It is considered a prerequisite to adopting new and difficult behavior. If we expect students to resist drugs, we must help them feel they can do so. The curriculum offers a number of ways to increase resistance self-efficacy, including modeling, practice, and feedback. A key mechanism is the teacher's own belief that students are capable of resisting. This belief should be communicated dearly and honestly in the form of specific feedback after resistance practice. Some examples include: "You really know how to say 'no'." "That's a good way to resist." "That sounded very convincing." "You looked and sounded like you meant what you said? "You sounded in charge." "I think you've got it!" "You handled that well." "I like the way you worded that; I would have stopped pressuring you." "That sounded powerful." "That was a mature way of responding." Active Student Involvement and Practice Student participation has been built into the curriculum whenever possible. Research indicates that people learn more, remember more, and feel more effective if they actually do something that involves them in the learning process. Project ALERT activities encourage doing - making lists of reasons, discussing videos, performing "saying 'no'" skits, rewriting ads, writing "saying 'no'" responses and suggesting alternative behaviors. Modeling Modeling is an important teaching device and means of increasing self-efficacy. In Project ALERT, the teacher models resistance skills, as do the older teens in the videos. By relating personal examples of saying "no," they illustrate effective ways of resisting. Reinforcement Reinforcement is accomplished by several techniques. Verbal reinforcement methods include repeating correct responses and solutions, elaborating on a student's Introduction and Overview [ 3 response and connecting it with other material, and directly reinforcing what the student said or did. Honest, direct praise can be motivating.. Some examples are: "That's a terrific wa), to say 'no'." "That's an interesting observation/point." "I tike how you put that." '7 never thought of that!' "I've learned a lot from you." (to the dass) "Good job!" Nonverbal methods indude classroom applause, smiling, nodding or a thumbs up sign. Reinforcement is specifically included in the curriculum as a teaching strategy. Validation Validation means acknowledging students' feelings, sometimes before they express them and sometimes even when they deny them. Examples include acknowledging that (1) it is hard to identify and resist pressure, (2) advertising is powerful, and (3) students are not expected to know all the answers. Proximal (Io~ls Each lesson begins with a statement of proximal goals, or what students will accom- plish that day. Although such a beginning may seem trivial, research indicates that stating proximal goals promotes learning and self-efficacy. These goals are listed first- in each lesson and should guide each Activity. At the end of each lesson, the teacher reinforces the students' abilities to achieve them. Respect Students who are treated with respect are more receptive and motivated. Respectful treatment includes listening carefully and acknowledging what students say. It also includes responding gently to a wrong answer by acknowledging any truth in it, vali- dating the students' feelings ("Man?people think that.") and presenting the correct answer. Teachers increase their credibility and contribute to a dimate of respect by avoiding preachy statements, acknowledging that the students ultimately make the decision about using drugs, and clarifying that no one can make them use drugs if they don't want to. Enthusiasm Teacher enthusiasm sends students the message that the curriculum is great and they will like it. As teachers are well aware, enthusiasm is contagious and primes students for success. Core Curriculum - Proiect ALERT Adolescent Thinking . - Much psychological research indicates that adolescents think differently than adults. These differences make adolescents more vulnerable to taking risks with their health. The following differences are most relevant to preventing substance use and promot- ing resistance self-efficacy. 1. Difficulty in considering the future consequences of current decisions. 2. Difficulty in applying information about risks and consequences to them- selves; that is, they often believe themselves to be immune to negative events. Some psychologists refer to this belief as "the myth of personal immortaliw:' 3. Tendency to disCount known risks ("Everyone in m?family smokes, but no one has gotten lung cancer.'~. 4. Difficulty in understanding probability and its meaning for their own lives and health. 5. Poor decision-making skills. Of particular note is the tendency to discount long-term consequences in making decisions and a general inability to weigh costs and benefits to produce rational decisions. The Project ALERT curriculum is designed to be sensitive to these differences. For example, it stresses immediate and short-term consequences of substance' use rather than long-term consequences whenever possible. It emphasizes the possibility of alcohol-related accidents and points out that some health consequences occur with certainty if a person smokes cigarettes or marijuana even when the dosage is small. Addiction/dependence is emphasized as a key health consequence of drug use because it may occur quickly and is quite likely to happen. Among the short-term consequences, social consequences are of most concern to teenagers. Young people don't want bad breath or yellow teeth, and they want very much to be in control. Indeed, the period of adolescence is in essence a struggle to gain such control. Physical and psychological addiction, as well as loss of control while high, are emotionally objectionable states to young people because they imply lack of control. Hence, these consequences are strongly emphasized in the curriculum. Program Effectiveness Project ALERT was tested with over 7,000 seventh and eighth graders at thirty schools in California and Oregon. The schools were in urban, suburban and rural communities encompassing wide socioeconomic and ethnic diversity. The test included a control group of students who did not receive the lessons, enabling com- parison of results between students who received the program and those who did Introduction and Overview not. To assess the program's effects, drug use among students in the study was mea- sured at several points over fifteen months. The results sharply undermine three common criticisms of prevention programs: that they help only white, middle-class adolescents; that they help only those who need it least; and that they only reduce trivial levels of use.~' Results showed the roi- lowing: · The program was equally effective in schools with substantial minority popula- tions and in predominantly white schools. · For seventh graders who had never tried marijuana, one-third fewer program participants began using it than did those in the control group. · The program also reduced frequent marijuana use among high-risk students - those who were most likely to become regular users because they had already tried cigarettes or marijuana. · For those who had already experimented with cigarettes, regular smoking was cut by as much as 50 to 60 percent after participation in the program. · Booster lessons proved critical. They maintained marijuana curtailment in the eighth grade and prompted significant reductions in cigarette smoking. The program also curbed drinking among seventh graders. These gains, however, disappeared by the time students reached the eighth grade. On the basis of this research, RAND strengthened teachin, g strategies in the alcohol component of the program. Nevertheless, maintaining early prevention gains against alcohol requires reinforcement from the broader society. For previously confirmed smokers, the results indicate that prevention alone is not enough. These young people need help in quitting. To help address their needs, the curriculum also offers a lesson on smoking cessation. In summary, Project ALERT effectively prevented or reduced marijuana, cigarette, and alcohol use among young adolescents from widely different community and school environments. It helped both high- and low-risk students and proved suc- cessful in schools with both high- and low-minority populations. Equally impor- tant, it offered the prospect of preventing or delaying progression to harder drugs. An inhalant lesson has been added to the Project ALERT curriculum in response to disturbing national usage trends. This component was researched and developed by the same RAND team. ~- See P. L. Ellickson and R. M. Bell, "Drug Prevention in Junior High: A Multi-Site Longitudinal Test," Science, Vol. 247, pp. 12994305, March 16, 1990; and P. L. Ellickson and R. M. Bell, Prospects for Preventing Drug Use Among Young Adolescents, RAND Corporation, R-3896-CHF, March 1990. _) 6 I Core Curriculum