NCJ Number
129104
Journal
ERIC Review Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Pages: 2-7
Date Published
Unknown
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The solution to alcohol and drug problems may not fall solely within the realm of education, but the consequences of their use manifest themselves daily in the classroom.
Abstract
For every year since 1985, American adults have ranked student drug use as the number one problem in the nation's schools. By 1989, 60 percent of the nation's high school seniors responding to the Gallup Youth Survey cited drugs as their greatest concern. Though today's high school and college youth are about half as likely to use illegal drugs as their peers were ten years ago, the picture is not as promising where alcohol is concerned. More than one-third of the nation's high school seniors engaged in heavy drinking during the two weeks prior to the survey. School-based drug education programs and other prevention activities are critical to ensure that alcohol and other drug use among youth continues to decline. Successful school-based programs share certain characteristics: they recognize the roots and complexity of alcohol and other drug problems, draw on the full range of community resources, and develop from systematic planning and implementation. Also, successful school programs do not simply address specific alcohol and drug situations, but also attempt to build each young person's life skills. Federal and community efforts to end illegal drug use include the State and Local Grants Program, the Educational Personnel Training Program, and the Federal Activities Grants Program. 16 notes