Alpine School District (ASD) is the largest school district in Utah, serving over 80,000 Utah County students. The goal of ASD is to help students gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to lead happy, productive lives. Ensuring students understand the risks of substance abuse and then helping them gain skills and dispositions (like communication and resiliency) to successfully resist drug and alcohol misuse is critical.
What’s more, underage substance abuse not only interferes with academic success, but it also negatively impacts the formation of healthy and supportive friendships and participation in the many and varied extracurricular activities ASD has to offer.
With these dynamics in mind, ASD is proud to be an active partner in the Utah Valley Drug Prevention Coalition and recognizes the essential role the coalition plays in the education, organization, and advocacy for drug prevention.
Here are a few examples of the drug prevention efforts and initiatives in Alpine School District
- Prevention Dimension = Numerous elementary schools across the district use this engaging curriculum and accompanying music to teach about healthy lifestyles.
- 3rd Millennium = Jr High and High School students are enrolled in this Drug Abuse Prevention online education course when they had drug-related offenses at school.
- State/County Grants = Thousands of dollars in grant money is applied for and then used to help schools hire student advocates, sponsor prevention nights, teach mindfulness (resiliency) curriculum, etc.
- Botvin Life Skills = All health classes in the Junior Highs and High Schools use this curriculum that has a heavy focus on drug abuse prevention and developing healthy habits.
- Social/Emotional Wellness Team = This team meets regularly to coordinate the efforts of hundreds of district service providers (nurses, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, etc.) and to steer resources, employee training, and curriculum and instruction in the most effective manner to support the wellness of the “whole child”.
- N.O.V.A. = Elementary school across the district team with local Police Departments to teach 6th graders a curriculum focused on embracing positive opportunities, avoiding harmful situations, and being accountable for decisions.
- Prevention Nights = A number of Prevention Nights are held in various schools each year that encourage parents to learn about risk factors, embrace protective behaviors, and connect with community resources. The goal of these events is to help families make healthy choices in their physical, emotional, and social lives.
