Endorsements and Testimonials

US Department of Education:

ED was created in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. Its original directive remains its mission today Ñ to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation. ED’s employees and budget are dedicated to:

• Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
• Collecting data on America’s schools and disseminating research.
• Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
• Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education

www.ed.gov

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP):

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization. OJJDP supports states and communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs and to improve the juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety, holds offenders accountable, and provides treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of juveniles and their families.

www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/

The US Department of Health and Human Services:

THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

www.hhs.gov

National Prevention Network (NPN):

The National Prevention Network (NPN), an organization of State alcohol and other drug abuse prevention representatives, is a component of NASADAD, provides a national advocacy and communication system for prevention. State prevention representatives work with their respective State Agency Directors for alcohol and other drug abuse to ensure the provision of high quality and effective alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse prevention services in each State. The NPN, in collaboration with the NASADAD Prevention Committee and staff, implements its mission at the National level.

www.nasadad.org/index.php?doc_id=27

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. (NASADAD):

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. (NASADAD) is a private, not-for-profit educational, scientific, and informational organization. The Association was originally incorporated in 1971 to serve State Drug Agency Directors, and then in 1978 the membership was expanded to include State Alcoholism Agency Directors. NASADAD’s basic purpose is to foster and support the development of effective alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and treatment programs throughout every State.

www.nasadad.org

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America:

CADCA’s mission is to build and strengthen the capacity of community coalitions to create safe, healthy and drug-free communities. The organization supports its members with technical assistance and training, public policy, media strategies and marketing programs, conferences and special events.

www.cadca.org

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP):

The principal purpose of ONDCP is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation’s drug control program. The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences.

www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov

National Middle School Association:

Since its inception in 1973, National Middle School Association (NMSA) has been a voice for those committed to the educational and developmental needs of young adolescents. NMSA is the only national education association dedicated exclusively to the growth of middle level education.

www.nmsa.org

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation:

The Foundation identifies critical societal needs, then proactively initiates major, long-term projects with appropriate partner organizations to implement them. In accordance with Conrad N. Hilton’s Last Will and Testament, the Foundation seeks to alleviate the suffering of the world’s most disadvantaged, with a special emphasis on children and support for the work of the Roman Catholic Sisters. Key program areas include: Catholic Sisters, Blindness-related Services & Prevention, Domestic Violence, Early Childhood Development, Housing for the Mentally Ill Homeless, Hotel & Restaurant Management Education, Safe Water Development, and Substance Abuse.

www.hiltonfoundation.org

Making the Grade: A Guide to School Drug Prevention Programs

Making the Grade is a comprehensive guide to the 47 most widely used drug prevention programs in the nation. The guide assists school officials, teachers and parents in making informed decisions about how to spend limited prevention funds. The publication has received extensive media coverage since its release by Drug Strategies, a non-profit research institute that promotes more effective approaches to the nation’s drug problems and supports private and public initiatives that reduce the demand for drugs through prevention, treatment and law enforcement.

www.drugstrategies.org

RAND:

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis.

www.rand.org

“Project Alert is a program dedicated to ongoing professional support and development. The online training has been a fabulous opportunity for new staff to receive the training as well as experienced staff to continue to be supported in their initial learnings. Whenever we have had a question, the staff at Project Alert have proven to be quick and attentive to our needs.

Project Alert is a proven curriculum that provides a pathway to achieving our goals of keeping safe and drug-free schools.”

Sherri Travisano
Math, Science and Prevention Coordinator
Tempe Elementary School District

“We have been using Project ALERT for the past 6 years and include it as part of our health education in all 36 middle schools. Teachers have found the curriculum to be very teacher-friendly and easy to use, and they are delighted to receive the regular updates to the materials and the curriculum. We have an ongoing local evaluation of the effectiveness of the curriculum and we are very pleased with the knowledge and attitude change experienced by our students — and the students enjoy the lessons and activities in Project ALERT.”

Russell Henke
Coordinator of Health Education
Montgomery County Public Schools
Rockville, Maryland

“I like the teaching tips. Usually teacher training tells you to present information to students, but Project ALERT shows you how to get the kids to come up with the information themselves. I think that’s a much better way to do it.”

Bill O’Connell
Teacher Sachem School District
Long Island, NY

“I thought the training was concise and full of good hints. It was an excellent overview, and a great introduction to the program. I liked that we could work at our own speed because I work fast, as you can tell.”

Christine McDonough
Special Education Teacher
Sachem School District, Long Island, NY

“I often go to the website to get ideas on how to tweak lessons. It helps to know everything is online, but I use printed lesson plan to review before class. I also read the Project ALERT newsletter and get good suggestions there .”

Jon Horst
Project ALERT teacher
Sachem School District, Long Island, NY

“It was also very important that teachers buy into whatever research-validated program was selected Ð that they both like it and feel comfortable presenting it in the classroom. I needed them to feel committed to it so they will teach it with fidelity, even as they might make minor adaptations. Once it was in place in several of our middle schools, we found that the teachers we trained to use Project ALERT loved it and felt their students benefited from it. They advocated strongly for its adoption after learning that the research had validated its effectiveness.”

Robin Sinks
Health Curriculum Leader
Long Beach Unified School District, CA

“Not only have they helped us with training our staff but they regularly update the curricula to keep it current, and have a great website full of support materials and current information. They offer all this at a very reasonable charge. Most companies send you and catalog and you have to pay for updated or additional materials.”

Robin Sinks
Health Curriculum Leader
Long Beach Unified School District, CA

“We got very positive feedback from teachers in all the training sessions. Teachers can be a little critical if the pacing is off. They don’t want things too long or too short. They told us they appreciated the interactive nature of the training and the opportunity to do some role playing, just like students do. They also felt a strong connection with the Project ALERT trainers, who had been classroom teachers and understood their special challenges.”

Robin Sinks
Health Curriculum Leader
Long Beach Unified School District, CA

“if we can send kids into the community after graduation who are prepared academically and who are productive citizens, then we’ve done what education was designed to do. I want every student who goes through our schools and our health education program to be the kind of person I’d feel comfortable having live next door to me. Someone I’d like for a neighbor. I would say to school personnel starting out on this venture that it’s worth all the effort you put into it. Project ALERT has provided Long Beach with a broad spectrum of services to meet our needs.”

Robin Sinks
Health Curriculum Leader
Long Beach Unified School District, CA

“We heard about Project ALERT from other schools and from several police groups. It’s and Exemplary Model Program for Safe and Drug Free Schools. But there’s more to it than that. ãWe get wonderful support form the national office. They keep the materials up to date, and they have an excellent website and newsletter. They do our training for us, and they use quality training materials. We’ve seen how positively teachers respond during the training. We also like the option of having online training. I could go on and on.”

Rona Cole
Coordinator for Health Education Programs
Los Angeles Unified School District, CA

“One of the most important things is that the program resonates with our students, almost 75 percent of whom are Hispanic. We’re finding that Project ALERT is very culturally relevant to them. And to us, that’s impressive.”

Rona Cole
Coordinator for Health Education Programs
Los Angeles Unified School District, CA

“They see their black heroes Ð athletes and rappers Ð endorsing beer on television. It’s tough to counteract that. But by the time we finish with Project ALERT, the kids have a sense of how they can negotiate, how they can get out of risky situations. And in learning how to say no to drugs, they learn how to resist other temptations as well.”

Cheryl Johnson
Teacher
Ron Brown Middle School, Washington DC
Mother of three, degree in psychology

“We know we are making a difference. The kids come back and tell us so.”

Martin Taylor
Teacher
Ron Brown Middle School, Washington DC
4 year teaching veteran for Project ALERT