Across the country, schools and districts are preparing for a new academic year. Community members from law enforcement, social services, state and local government, and health fields, as well as parents and students, are working with teachers to identify and implement proven prevention strategies and to maximize efforts to keep the nation's young people safe, healthy, and drug free. These efforts will strengthen the national goal, exemplified in the No Child Left Behind legislation, of ensuring that every child is able to learn and grow.

Here's what schools are doing across the country to prepare for safe and drug-free learning environments and to strengthen the important link between prevention initiatives and academic performance.

Oklahoma

Harding Middle School and Rogers Middle School in Oklahoma City are integrating assessment methods, research, and lessons learned from the National Threat Assessment Seminar in Houston, Texas, into their Safe Schools Committee plan. The seminar, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and the U.S. Secret Service, took place earlier this summer. In partnership with law enforcement resource officers, school officials, teachers, and prevention coordinators, the schools are working to increase community and school awareness and strengthen planning to prevent violence in school settings. They have created a core Technical Assistance Team made up of school counselors, school nurses, principals, and assistant principals to strengthen school capacity based on proven violence prevention strategies. When the school year begins, they plan to use their core team to involve parents, legislators, and members of the faith community in strengthening formal and informal opportunities for communication between students and adults.

Kansas

The Hope Street Academy, a Charter School in Topeka, Kansas, is getting the local business community actively involved in developing comprehensive prevention strategies through a service learning initiative that connects students to the community. The Academy's program places students in settings that foster self-esteem, confidence, and increased dialogue with caring adults. It emphasizes creating links between the school and community, and strengthening the connections between prevention initiatives and academic performance. The goal of service learning at the Hope Street Academy is to create youth-friendly environments where young people can become invested in the community and return to small classes that foster safety and effective adult/ child connections.

Texas

The Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in Houston, Texas, is continuing to implement and strengthen their Bullying Prevention Program. Using a developmentally appropriate approach, the issues of both victims and perpetrators are explored through teacher training and skill-building activities. HISD plans to continue professional development activities for staff to assist them in identifying and supporting students who may be vulnerable and most at risk as targets for bullying behavior.

Florida

The North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) consists of nine Safe and Drug-Free School Districts. Teachers, administrators, and school resource officers have been invited to participate in a series of training activities designed to strengthen the development of comprehensive prevention strategies. Among the many activities offered is Preparing for the Drug-Free Years training. The Consortium partnered with area mental health agencies to provide this training for parents in each community. Three counties have piloted the program this summer and four plan to start programs in the fall.