Substance Use Education

For elementary schools:  Link to this section

• Age-appropriate substance use lessons for elementary students focus on character building, self-esteem, and  resisting external pressures. Although many lessons focus on alcohol and tobacco use, the concepts taught apply to all substances.
• Teachers can access substance use prevention lessons for grades K-5 HealthSmart Substance Use Lessons (login required).

For middle schools: Link to this section

• Project Alert: A research-validated Tobacco and Drug Prevention Education Curriculum for seventh grade.
• You and Me, Together Vape-Free Middle School Curriculum: Lessons from Stanford University, each providing activities, online quiz games and worksheets in addition to presentations, resources, and other materials aimed at preventing and reducing e-cigarette use.
• Smart Talk Cannabis Prevention Awareness Curriculum: Lessons from Stanford University, each providing lesson plans, games, activities and quizzes aimed at preventing and reducing the use of cannabis.
• Peer Education: We train students as MS Youth Outreach workers who provide Classroom Peer Education and lead Anti-Tobacco media and school campaigns. This program is currently paused. 

For high schools: Link to this section

• Safety First: a harm reduction-based drug education curriculum for high school students. It adheres to research-based prevention and drug education principles while equipping teens to make safer choices about drug use.
• You and Me, Together Vape-Free High School Curriculum: Lessons from Stanford University, each providing activities, online quiz games and worksheets in addition to presentations, resources, and other materials aimed at preventing and reducing e-cigarette use.
• Smart Talk Cannabis Prevention Awareness Curriculum: Lessons from Stanford University, each providing lesson plans, games, activities and quizzes aimed at preventing and reducing the use of cannabis.
• Peer Education: We train over 150 students as HS Tobacco Youth Outreach Workers who provide classroom peer education sessions and lead anti-tobacco media and school campaigns.

Intervention Services:  

Students who are caught using tobacco or vaping on campus are issued a Tobacco citation. They are expected to attend a mandatory Tobacco Awareness session with the school Nurse or trained Tobacco Youth Outreach Worker.

Alternative to suspension programs: 

• Health Futures: Created by Stanford University, a program is geared for students who have been caught using e-cigarettes OR cannabis and/or for any students who are interested in trying to quit. This program is packed with a self-paced lesson, a group 2- or 4-hour teacher or counselor-led curriculum, quitting resources, and more!
• Brief Intervention Servies: BIS is a short-term intervention that consists of 3 sessions aimed at adolescents who use alcohol, tobacco and/or other drugs (ATOD). This training approach uses motivational interviewing, cognitive behavior therapy, and the stages of change model to meet the needs of adolescents.
  Our Healthy Futures:  Stanford University creation for an Alternative-to-Suspension with two versions: a two- and a four-hour version.
  • The two-hour version can be taught with just one student or in a group setting. It allows for warm-up questions interspersed between slides that allow students to share what they know about each topic.
  • The four-hour version builds on the two hour version by allowing time for personal reflection following each topic. This version allows for more individual introspection and group discussion when done in group setting.
• Quit Groups: For those students who are interested in cutting back or quitting, we offer a Quit Group or provide one on one counseling with a Community Based Agency or School Nurse. School staff can request a quit kit from Central office using this form. 

More information for Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) 

• We have a collection of substance use education materials available for check out. Here is the link to request the materials.
• TUPE slides and information
• TUPE Alternative to Suspension Tool Kit
• TUPE CA homepage
• TUPE Program Overview
• TUPE and Youth Development