Ed Virant, project coordinator for the Drug-Free Program in the Omaha Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, describes an effective school and community drug-prevention program in his district. Excerpted from the video series Schools That Work: The Research Advantage, videoconference #6, Preparing Students for Drug-Free Lifestyles (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1992).
"The vehicle we found most affective to achieve that building level ownership is our school community teams. We have seventy-eight buildings, individual schools, you know, public schools, forty-six of those buildings have had teams that have gone through it's residential training. That team has included principals, teachers, community representatives and parents. They go receive basic information on prevention, effective strategies, but most effectively come up with an action plan that they can incorporate into their school improvement plan to address the specific needs of that particular school community."
This Critical Issue was researched and written by Emanuel Hurwitz, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago; Julius Menacker, Ed.D, Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Ward Weldon, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago. Additional comments were provided by Carol Sullivan, a Minneapolis-based violence prevention consultant.
Date posted: 1996