College Preparation
Transitions is a new prevention program targeted to college-bound high school juniors and seniors. It is intended to reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs during the final years of high school, challenge social norms and change attitudes about high risk drinking, and help prepare students for the drug and alcohol challenges they may face in college.
We are in the preliminary stages of developing the first component of this larger campaign that will focus on transitional issues of students making other transitions from high school- to the workforce or to other continuing education or vocational training.
The
Transitions Program targeting college-bound students is being developed by a joint collaboration between the
American Council for Drug Education, the prevention affiliate of
Phoenix House and
Tanglewood Research, Inc.
Program Resources
Guide for Parents - Making the Transition: Preparing Your Teen for College's Alcohol and Other Drug Challenges. View a sample of the guide and learn how to order by visiting here.
List serv - for school counselors, school nurses, professionals, and others interested in the TRANSITIONAL issues faced by high school juniors and seniors as they prepare for their first year of college. To join send a blank e-mail message to: TransitionalYouth-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Curriculum - Currently we are working on a school-based curriculum that can be used during school or as part of an after school prep-for-college workshop or program.
In its final form, it will include:
• Six sessions covering such topics as:
• Alcohol Effects On the Body
• Social Norms
• Decision Making
• Beliefs About Consequences
• Alcohol Poisoning and Helping a Friend
• A teachers manual
• Materials for students
• An online version for more convenient remote access
The Phase I curriculum was pilot tested this past year. Click here to view a summary of the findings.
Throughout the next year we will be continuing to pilot test it and evaluate it for effectiveness.
Please send an e-mail to
Transitions@phoenixhouse.org to be added to our mailing list and receive updates about the program. You can also check back here periodically as we add new resources to the site.
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Services For Parents, Professionals & Students
Workshops for Parents and Parent Associations
Workshops for Students
Workshops/Consultation for Professionals on topics such as:
- Drug and alcohol policy
- Teaching prevention for older adolescents
- Transitions to college — Preparing students for the non-academic transition
- Audio conferences
- Alcohol, Drugs and Transitional Issues for College-Bound High Schools Students, April 19, 2005
Click here to view a summary
For more information on our training & consultation services for older adolescents call us at (646) 505-2064 or Transitions@phoenixhouse.org
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Work With Community Coalitions / Local Schools & Agencies
In delivering prevention programming to young people, resources and training are only one piece of the battle. Effective and sustained prevention requires an effective strategy for working with schools and related agencies to benchmark progress toward measurable prevention goals for older adolescents, build capacity of a community so they can act as one, provide sustained and effective prevention.
Currently we are working with local coalitions, school districts, and colleges in Pennsylvania and Colorado to help them create an awareness of the need for prevention for older adolescents among their constituents, develop benchmark measures to determine local issues related to transitions post-high school, and build their capacity to address these issues as a coalition. The Transitions program and its resources have been introduced and will be tested this spring as a possible strategy among others for addressing the needs of older adolescents and those transitions to college.
We will use these experiences as a model for outreach to other communities.
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Public Awareness
In support of these local efforts, we also hope to generate attention to the transitioinal issues of high school students. To this end, we have begun and will continue to engage in public awareness and professional development activities such as:
- Through Editorial Content in professional journals and publications - Generate articles about substance abuse and older adolescents for trade magazines, national publications and websites geared towards professionals and students.
- Professional Development — through our website listserv and conference presentations, along with editorial content, we are making sure professionals working with older teens have access to accurate, high-quality information about substance abuse and this population.
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