January : Drug Free 24/7 the way to go! Prevention Opportunities:

January kicks off the new year and heralds many new beginnings, some actual and others symbolic. One 'new beginning’ in January is both. The second semester of school is the official start of the second half of the school year. It is also a 'clean slate' for many young people.  While classroom performance in the first semester is still relevant, the beginning of second semester brings a new opportunity for academic success.

This ‘clean slate’ can apply to other areas of school life, too. Students who have had discipline problems in the first half of the school year can view the start of the second semester as an opportunity for change. Youth who have avoided extra-curricular activities can test the waters of school activities with the advent of the new semester. 

Students may also recognize the launch of second semester as the chance to celebrate the achievements of the first semester and recommit to those goals for the rest of the school year. 

We know that alcohol, tobacco and other drug use impacts student success in all facets of their lives, including: academics, friendships, youth-parent relationships, athletics and other extracurricular activities. A student who is not using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is more likely to succeed in those facets of his or her life than a student who is using. 

We also know that the second semester brings with it specific marketing campaigns that can encourage kids to use. The Super Bowl, March Madness and other sporting events are soaked in alcohol advertising. The concept of spring break in the U.S. has become increasingly tied to alcohol consumption. Proms and graduation are often viewed as acceptable celebrations for alcohol and other drug use, even by some adults.

Summer often brings with it free time, sometimes unsupervised, and an increase in consumption among youth. The anticipation of moving to the next grade level – which may include going to a new school building – may encourage youth to begin using as a way to “grow up” or “fit in” with an older group of students. Drug Free 24/7 provides a vehicle to set the stage for second semester and build a foundation for later activity- or event-related positive social marketing strategies. Schools, parents, and other sectors of the community can participate to send a uniform message to kids: Drug Free 24/7 for second semester is the way to go!

Schools

A district or school building or even a classroom can launch second semester with a kick-off event like an assembly or classroom discussion about establishing and reaching goals. The program could include opportunities for students to write down their goals for the semester.

The program would include the message that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs are barriers to reaching goals and ask students to make a pledge to be Drug Free 24/7 for the rest of the year. School personnel can use the Drug Free 24/7 pledge cards as a means of recognizing student commitment. If a school or classroom utilized the Drug Free 24/7 pledge cards at the beginning of the academic year, this new pledge-signing can be viewed as a re-commitment to goals. Or, a school might distribute Drug Free 24/7 bookmarks and/or pencils as a reminder of that earlier pledge and a tool for repetition of the message.

Schools can also hang Drug Free 24/7 posters and ask teachers to wear the Drug Free 24/7 buttons at the start of second semester to support and repeat the message throughout the building and/or district. Parents and guardians: Parents and guardians can also emphasize the second semester as a “new beginning” and assist their children in committing to be drug free for the remainder of the school year – and beyond. Parents, either in conjunction with the school’s second semester Drug Free 24/7 kick-off or separately, can provide a similar goal-setting process with the student within the home, again utilizing the Drug Free 24/7 pledge cards or other relevant materials to support the message.

Parents can also apply rule-setting or evaluation and expectation of behavior to the second semester and Drug Free 24/7, setting the stage for some of the aforementioned events, like spring break, that occur during second semester. For example, a parent of an eighth-grade student might sit down with the student, re-establish curfew and other home rules, including the alcohol, tobacco and other drug rules for the entire family, and have the child – and possibly the rest of the family – sign the pledge card as a way of demonstrating commitment to those rules.

Youth-Serving Organizations, Faith Institutions, & Others

Organizations that serve youth, either specifically or as part of a larger population, can help with repetition of the message by posting Drug Free 24/7 posters, distributing Drug Free 24/7 stickers to youth and families, and providing programming specific to the idea of “new beginnings.” Groups that provide venues for youth dialogue can even frame discussion around the “new beginnings” concept or use that opportunity to discuss with students what it meant to sign the Drug Free 24/7 pledge card.

Broader Community

Businesses, governmental entities, and others can support this approach by hanging the posters or distributing the Drug Free 24/7 pencils to their customers and consumers. Have other ideas to communicate the Drug Free 24/7 message with the start of second semester? Work with Drug-Free Action Alliance to create other Drug Free 24/7 materials to support your message and increase your success. We know that repetition of message is essential to any social marketing approach and intended impact on behavior. The start of the second semester of the school year is an incredibly opportune time to lay the groundwork for a Drug Free 24/7 remainder of the academic year and all of 2011.

Another Example

Observance:
National Birth Defects Month - National Birth Defects Prevention Network

Target population:
Expecting parents, women of childbearing age.

Social Marketing Strategy:
Partner with primary care doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers to distribute resources from the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Service’s “Not a Single Drop” initiative along with Drug Free 24/7 materials for the whole family.