Three types of strategies are generally used to prevent substance use and violence: those that target individuals (e.g., students, parents, teachers), those that promote institutional change (e.g., within the classroom, school, family, or community agency), and those that involve changes to the community as a whole. Historically, most school-based approaches to preventing or reducing high-risk behaviors have been designed to change individual behavior (e.g., skill-building activities). However, an increasing body of evidence describes the important role that schools and communities can play in promoting and reinforcing these individual-level changes, and urges practitioners to develop a coordinated approach to prevention that addresses change at multiple levels.

Key school-linked prevention strategies that support multilevel change are described below. Please note that particular combinations of strategies have not been studied to see how they affect (i.e., strengthen, weaken, or have no effect on) one another.

• Enhancing students' personal and social skills. Instructional approaches that promote critical thinking and enhance social and emotional skills may prevent or reduce the behaviors that lead to substance use and violence. Skills-based instructional approaches can be offered as discrete "health education" courses, incorporated within existing courses (e.g., social studies), or integrated across the academic curriculum (i.e., spread throughout numerous existing courses and activities).

• Connecting at-risk students and families with appropriate services. Teachers, guidance counselors, school nurses, and others in the school setting are in a prime position to identify young people at risk for substance use and violence. They can also connect students to (or provide) the necessary educational or therapeutic interventions, medical care, or social services. Strategies that target at-risk students and their families are most effective at enhancing protective factors and producing positive youth outcomes. Schools can offer these services in the school or through links to other social service agencies in the community. Three family-centered approaches, in particular, have shown great potential for success: parent and family skills training, family in-home support and home visiting, and family therapy.

• Providing safe and supervised alternatives. Enrichment and recreational activities that are enjoyable, safe, and supervised provide positive alternatives to situations that may lead to substance use and violence. These activities, which can include mentoring programs, community service, school-to-work assignments, and internships, can be offered in conjunction with a variety of community-based organizations and businesses. Although these activities alone are insufficient to counteract substance use and violent behavior, they are more likely to be effective if they are part of a comprehensive prevention plan that includes other strategies that have been proven effective.

• Restructuring classrooms to promote student engagement. Improving the very structure of and management style in a classroom can help students engage in the learning process, "bond" to their school, and improve academic performance. Effective classroom management strategies include establishing and enforcing clear classroom rules, managing classroom time to hold students' attention, and using rewards and discipline to promote positive behaviors. Classroom restructuring may also present a prime opportunity to connect with school reform planning teams working in your district to promote academic achievement among students.

• Influencing school and community norms. A critical part of any prevention initiative is the creation and reinforcement of a set of anti-drug and anti-violence messages within the school setting. One way to do this is by setting, communicating, and reinforcing positive norms -- clear and consistent social messages that substance use and violence are harmful, unacceptable, and illegal. To create and sustain changes, school-based efforts must also be supported and reinforced by the larger community.

• Establishing and enforcing clear school policies. School policies can be a powerful influence on reducing substance use and violence at school. When creating new school policies, make sure to communicate policy information and standards to students, school personnel, and families (including your rationale for developing the policy) and include clear consequences for infractions. It's also important to reward those who abide by the policies.

• Establishing and enforcing clear community policies. Establishing community policies that limit the availability of harmful substances and weapons represents another critical piece of a comprehensive prevention plan. Look to governments (municipal, state, and federal), public agencies (e.g., social service departments), and private organizations (e.g., HMOs, convenience stores) to institute policies. Although some new community policies may be necessary to help prevent substance use and violence among youth, many such policies are already in place.

• Building school-family-community partnerships. Schools, families, and communities must work together to design, deliver, and reinforce activities intended to prevent substance use and violence. For example, efforts to create, promote, and enforce social norms and policies directed at preventing substance use and violence must involve coordination and collaboration among schools, families, and communities. If anti-drug and anti-violence messages -- and the skills to follow through with those messages -- are to be effective, they must be reinforced rather than contradicted across these critical contexts.

For a detailed discussion of research-based prevention strategies, visit Chapter 3 of the MSC Training Manual Key School-Linked Strategies for Preventing Substance Abuse and Violence.