Intensive Classroom Education Programs
Alcohol and other drug education works. But it needs to be age-appropriate, ongoing, and of "critical mass" to become a presence in the school community and in students' minds and emotions. Time spent on prevention does not take away from learning. It enhances it. Students in alcohol- and other drug-free schools are able to learn without having to worry or feel conflicted about peers who are using or dealing drugs. Strong prevention programs value, protect, and respect children—and this is the environment in which children best learn.
FCD Four-Day Courses and Programs for elementary, middle, and high school students are richly interactive curricula that combine up-to-date information with real-life experiences. Teaching methods include presentations, discussion, role-play, and exercises. The courses are flexibly structured so that student questions and concerns can serve as springboards for discussion. Thus, the actual order in which material is presented may vary as our teachers capitalize on students' interests and enthusiasm.
For optimal effectiveness and interaction, the Four-Day Courses are best taught in classes of 15 to 20 students that meet with the FCD teacher for one period a day over the course of four days. Class lists should remain constant. We can work within virtually any scheduling structure, and can adapt the course to fit an individual school's class periods and modules.
FCD's highly trained health educators consist of extraordinary individuals who have achieved long-term recovery from alcohol and/or other drug addictions. This unique "I've been there" perspective not only enhances the credibility of our message, but provides students with role models for leading happy, healthy, alcohol- and other drug-free lives. Having personally experienced the destructive effects of addiction, FCD instructors teach from the heart. Their work is not merely a job, but a calling of prime importance carried out with honesty, compassion and care. It is no wonder that so many of the young people and adults with whom we work view our teachers as trusted mentors and friends, and invite them to return year after year.
FCD Four-Day Courses and Programs are based on the latest research. We incorporate into our content and teaching methods those strategies shown to be most effective in affecting attitudes and behavior and in minimizing the risks of substance abuse problems later in life:
- Changing normative beliefs
- Delaying first use
- Using age-appropriate language and content
- Teaching social skills and peer refusal skills
- Providing accurate information
- Helping students to become aware of short- and long-term consequences of use
- Sending a message that adults care about and will act to promote abstinence
- Encouraging non-use commitments
- Teaching students how to intervene
- Using interactive teaching methods
- Encouraging students to identify goals
- Facilitating discussions that foster self-analysis
- Addressing known risk factors and reasons young people use drugs
- Teaching alternative ways to get high.
FCD offers three distinct programs for elementary, middle, and high school students that recognize their different learning styles and developmental stages:
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