Teachers: Work smarter, not harder

Teachers, as you’re settling into classroom routines and building relationships with your students and families, keep in mind that the school year is a marathon, not a sprint. Sustaining that first day of school energy for the rest of the year means working smarter, not harder and we’re here to help!

You’ve relied on our underage drinking prevention resources to help you start discussions about the importance of saying NO to underage drinking in your classroom in past years, and it’s proven to be effective, so let us continue to do the heavy lifting when it comes to prevention education.

Start by setting the tone of your classroom as one that is collaborative, encouraging, and geared toward student success.

Our lesson plans, videos, and student materials are ready-to-use (including several new videos and lessons in Spanish). Our materials and resources created in partnership with Discovery Education feature additional lessons, videos, and an interactive module for students to apply what they’re learning to make informed and responsible decisions when confronted with peer pressure to drink alcohol underage.

When reaching out to parents about your curriculum, don’t reinvent the wheel! Print and share our parent letter. Send a link to this refusal role-playing activity for kids to show parents how they would react in different underage drinking scenarios. As you communicate with students’ families, encourage parents and caregivers to continue the conversations at home.

And SEL? The bottom line is prevention education IS SEL education. When kids are learning who they are and how to advocate for themselves, they are also learning the skills that will help them say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to underage drinking in the future.  So when you use our prevention materials with your students, they are developing those social-emotional skills, too!

The work you’re doing in your classroom with your students is critical. You’re working hard each and every day to support your students and it’s working! Underage drinking levels are at historic lows! Together, we will continue to work hard to keep these numbers moving in the right direction.

Thank you for all you do to keep your students alcohol and substance-free!