Patty Franklin rushed through the house trying to get out the door and into work in time for the first bell. She checked her briefcase one more time, making sure that her agendas, handouts, and overheads were safely packed away. Today's meeting was important, and she wanted to be certain that everything was just right. As drug prevention and school safety coordinator at Stanton Middle School, Patty had met often with the school's administrators, as well as the diverse school and community partners who comprised the Prevention Planning Team. Her team had worked hard to develop a comprehensive prevention plan that addressed some of the pressing needs facing local youth.

Yet, today marked a turning point: She and two of her team members were going to meet with the School Improvement Team to get their approval to move forward in selecting a research-based program for the school. The School Improvement Team, comprised of the principal, the vice-Principal, and a core group of teachers, was the school's primary decision-making body. Patty knew that obtaining their support and buy-in for her plans was critical and that it was up to her to do so. With a final glance through her bag, she checked her watch and headed out the door.

As Patty drove, she reflected on the progress that she and her committed planning team had made over the past year. Together they had spent several months gathering and organizing information from numerous school and community sources. An analysis of this information had helped the group define the drug- and violence-related problems most prevalent in their school as well as the students most at risk. The process of collecting the information also put them in contact with school and community partners eager to participate in the team's planning and programmatic efforts.

Based on their needs assessment, the group identified three immediate prevention priorities for the school: reduce bullying, reduce tobacco use, and increase school attendance. With these ends in mind, Patty worked with her planning team to determine which research-based strategies would most likely help them meet these priorities. School administrators and staff were particularly emphatic about the importance of selecting strategies that strengthened connections between students and the adults in their lives. They believed that no prevention program or strategy would work without a foundation of solid relationships. The team also needed to select strategies that would blend well with the whole-school reform program the school had recently adopted.

Guided by the research on effective prevention strategies and a close look at the prevention strategies already in place (some successful, some not so successful), the team proposed a multi-pronged plan that incorporated four primary strategies: classroom restructuring and management, policy development and enforcement, skill promotion, and family and community involvement. Patty felt confident that these strategies would help increase students' social and emotional skills and improve student-adult relationships, both of which were critical to the achievement of their three prevention priorities (bullying, tobacco use, and attendance). She also knew that some of these strategies, such as restructuring classrooms and parental involvement, would overlap well with the school's education reform efforts. Now Patty and her colleagues were ready to identify programs that would be compatible with these strategies.

Patty felt well-prepared, but slightly uneasy, as she headed toward the meeting. She knew that the school's principal was impressed by how far the Prevention Planning Team had progressed and was eager to keep moving forward. Yet, past meetings had revealed some quiet resistance among faculty to the concept of "research-based" programs. Many of the members of the School Improvement Team were quite attached to a classroom-based prevention curriculum that they had been using for the last three years... a curriculum that had never been evaluated, according to Patty's research. In making her case for change, Patty would have to convince them of the benefits of switching to a program that had met strict criteria for quality and effectiveness.

As she stepped out of the car and headed toward the meeting, Patty was thankful that two of her planning team members would be attending the meeting with her. She would certainly need their support!

Please think about these questions and post your answers to the Discussion Area.

1. What are the strongest points that Patty can make in favor of research-based prevention programming? What tactics might she use to make her case?

2. Have you ever facilitated or attended this type of meeting? If yes, what was the most challenging part of doing so?