"Project Safeguard Substance Abuse
Prevention Program"

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Contact Person: Warren Berry Jr.
Director, Project Safeguard
James Mastricola Middle School
26 Baboosic Lake Road
Merrimack, NH 03054
Phone: 603-424-6221
E-mail: jeyry@aol.com
Web site address: http://199.92.96.151/mmsweb/index.htm

Program Description

Project Safeguard (Students And Family Education Guards Us Against Reliance on Drugs) is a "family-based" preventive education program that was founded at the James Mastricola Middle School by classroom teacher Warren Berry and current principal Thomas Levesque in 1988. The project brings students and their parents together at an off-school site for an all-day conference held once a year. Parents and students plan their day together by pre-selecting workshops designated for parents only, students only, or parents and students together. Parents have an opportunity to spend a day with their child in an environment designed to promote better communication skills and healthy lifestyles. More than 15 speakers offer workshops covering a variety of topics such as: parenting skills, communication skills, self-esteem, peer pressure, nutrition, stress reduction, healthy relationships, AIDS prevention, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and decision-making skills.

The project seeks to highlight the importance of the family unit in addressing the choices and decisions our youth make during their teen years. Emphasis is placed on the rising use of drugs among teens. Project Safeguard supports one of America's Education Goals http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/safeschools.html of achieving safe and drug free schools that is also promoted by the State of New Hampshire http://www.ed.state.nh.us/SafeSchools/safeanddrugfreeschools.htm.

The conference is held on a weekday, with four 55-minute sessions being offered, along with a keynote address and closing message. Students and their parents in grades 6, 8, and 11 participate in Project Safeguard in Merrimack, although the program could be customized to students at any grade level.

Preparation and Professional Development for Staff

Faculty at the Middle School are integral to the project's success. The Project Safeguard workshops are open to faculty themselves who may receive professional development certificates for their attendance. Following the day of workshops, faculty are encouraged to conduct discussions with their students about lessons learned from the experience. They also discuss in team meetings effective ways for integrating information from the workshops into their daily conversations with students and into their lesson plans.

Impact on Student Learning and Other Valued Educational Outcomes

Each year, approximately 750 students from the Mastricola Middle School participate in Project Safeguard. While the district does not have longitudinal data regarding its impact on students' drug use, a formative evaluation of the project, conducted by an outside evaluator in 1992, elicited many positive comments from parents, including:

"This is our second child to go through this program and we can not speak highly enough of it. It helps open doors and lines of communication that may otherwise not be discussed."

"Excellent Program! This is my 2nd time...first time eight years ago. My 19 year old daughter still remembers the workshops she attended in her sixth grade."

Costs Associated with the Program

The costs of running a Project Safeguard Project will vary from school to school. At James Mastricola Middle School, the costs to run the all-day program for 744 students and their parents grouped in three teams was approximately $14,800, with 70% going for speaker's fees. Funding sources for the program include the Merrimack School District, Safe and Drug Free Schools grants, James Mastricola Middle School Parent Teacher Group, and contributions from local businesses and organizations.

In Summary

Project Safeguard is a nationally validated drug prevention education model that is currently being implemented in over 25 New Hampshire schools. It offers a unique opportunity for students and parents to come together at a time when adolescents are moving away from their protection of their parent's constant supervision. For these reasons the project has much to offer other New Hampshire schools and the Mastricola staff are eager to share with their colleagues around the state

Reference List:

Merry Fortier
Grant Coordinator, Safe Schools Programs
New Hampshire Department of Education
101 Pleasant St.
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-271-3928
FAX: 602-271-1953
E-mail: mfortier@ed.state.nh.us
http://www.ed.state.nh.us/SafeSchools/safeanddrugfreeschools.htm.

Terry Tibbetts
Drug Free Zones
New Hampshire Department of Education
101 Pleasant St.
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-271-3869
FAX: 603-271-1953
E-mail: ttibbetts@ed.state.nh.us

National Alliance for Safe Schools
Ice Mountain, P.O. Box 290
Slanesville, WV 25444-0290
Phone: 304-496-8100, Toll free No.: 1-888-510-6500
FAX: 304-496-8105
Email: NASS@raven-villages.net