Jackson County Program Evaluation Project Year 3, Report 1.pdf

• School District Good Conduct Policy Review and RevisionTwo school districts reviewed and updated their good conduct policies. PrestonHigh School’s policy now requires that students are referred to the substanceabuse counselor if a substance use violation occurs. Preston High School alsoinstalled hallway monitoring cameras that were purchased with grant funds, andhas seen a reduction in conduct violations since their installation.Increase Education and Change Perception of Underage Alcohol Use• Public Service Announcements/Media CampaignThe “Got A Minute?” campaign kicked off on June 24, 2009, with a communitypicnic. Messages encouraging parents to eat dinner with their children and talkwith them about the risks of substance use began airing on the radio in June2009.A 30-second PSA, “What’s Lurking in Maquoketa?” aired on the local radiostations prior to the March 2010 Maquoketa Town Hall Meeting. The PSAprovided statistics on Jackson County youths’ perceptions of drinking and easeof obtaining alcohol.The Maquoketa newspaper published a letter to the editor written by the projectcoordinator which promoted the successes of the school-based preventionprograms funded by the grant, and the involvement of school teachers in thoseprograms. Three area newspapers published an article featuring the work of thegrant’s CMCA Coordinator and the community coalition. The Maquoketanewspaper published a 10-page section about Red Ribbon Week that featuredstudents’ descriptions of the reasons they choose to be substance free.• Parent-to-Parent PledgesA Parent-to-Parent Pledge drive was held in August 2009 for the 2009 – 2010School Year. The pledge is for parents to provide an alcohol-free, supervisedenvironment for their children and their children’s friends who visit, and towelcome telephone calls from the parents of their children’s friends. Elevenparents signed the pledge in the initial implementation, which was an insufficientnumber to justify the cost of printing the parent handbooks. Program staff askedthose parents for suggestions of other parents to contact, and a second pledgedrive was held in September 2010. Thirteen additional parents signed pledges.• Alcohol-Free Graduation SignsProject staff is re-evaluating this approach as the signs have not appeared tohave the desired effect in the community. Staff is considering a similar approachin year three, using a different message.• Post-It NotesProject staff and coalition members distributed five thousand Post-It Note packsto parents of middle- and high-school age youth. The notes had lines forJackson County GRAA Evaluation Report 20