Faculty Professional Development
Our passion is helping school communities (institutions) assess gaps between their institutional behavior and their espoused values, allowing them to make informed and ultimately healthier decisions for those they serve.
Adolescents’ risky behavior (alcohol, drugs, self-harm, suicide, depression, eating disorders) are real issues, and ones we cannot wish away. We have to abandon the conceit that isolated personal actions are going to solve these types of problems. School culture influences how people think, feel, and act; culture is a key determinant of staff focus, commitment, motivation, and productivity. Elements of culture: norms, network; heroes and heroines; rituals, traditions, and ceremonies; “the way we do things around here” need to be examined in the light of a contemporary wellness strategy.
In the review of literature on the efficacy of prevention approaches, the training of school faculty enhanced the impact of school-based prevention programs. One cannot underestimate the importance of a consistent and coordinated adult strategy to guide students’ positive behaviors and intervene on behavior problems.
Faculty education and training is essential in helping a school community prevent and delay underage drinking and other drug use, and address mental health issues in teens. An important element of any prevention strategy is “many messengers sending the same message”.
We encourage schools to schedule a faculty meeting to introduce our seminar and the instructor. This is an opportunity for faculty to ask questions and receive information about our work and philosophy.
Faculty Orientation Meeting
- An introduction to alcohol and drug prevention theory and practice. What works? What doesn’t?
- Myths and misdirections in preventing underage drinking and other drug use in teens
- Discussing the role of faculty in identifying a student with substance abuse issues and how to intervene effectively
- Non-threatening techniques for faculty to address alcohol and other drug issues in students
- Providing up-to-date information about current drug and alcohol use trends
- How schools can encourage and validate the non-using student community
- The role of advisory in prevention and health promotion
Our Faculty Presentations Are Ideal For:
- Regional and National Conference Professional Development Opportunities
- Back to School Professional Development Day (August)
- Community & County Substance Abuse Coalition Professional Development
- Faculty or Board Retreats
In-Service Programs and Topics
- Bringing It All Together – Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Use in Schools by Turning Theory Into Practice
- Creating Behavior Intervention Teams (Workshop 1-2 days)
- Outstanding Advisory – Nuts and Bolts of Creating and Sustaining Effective Advisory Programs (1-2 days)
Strategic Wellness Planning
A comprehensive approach to prevention depends on engaging in a process to result in effective prevention efforts. Each campus is unique, with its own variety of alcohol and other drug issues. Some secondary school and college prevention efforts have rushed to select prevention activities before engaging in a thorough process to ensure they are appropriate, science-based, and will result in outcomes that will solve their specific problems. A sounder approach first determines the desired outcomes and then identifies activities that are likely to achieve them. The research literature suggests that prevention programs are most effective when they are designed to achieve realistic goals, have clear and focused objectives, are comprehensive in scope, and are adapted to fit the specific community and social context.
Strategic planning is a systematic process involving problem identification and analysis, identifying goals and objectives, selecting evidence-based strategies, and then selecting and defining activities based on the readiness of a campus to move forward with prevention programming and policies. A readiness assessment will determine the willingness and commitment of the community to create change around identified problems. Underlying the strategic planning process is evaluation, the cornerstone to strong prevention planning, analysis, and improvement. Engaging in these steps will ensure that efforts are targeted to meet a campus’s needs and problems as documented by local data, and are evidence-based, drawing on research literature and theory.
The issues facing communities and schools are complex… which is all the more reason not to face them alone. We develop, implement and facilitate strategic planning sessions that include the formation or reformation of visions, operating values and principles, mission statements, and long and short term goals.
