Welcome to the Wisconsin Safe & Healthy Schools Center Newsletter
Vision: Every Child Safe, Healthy and Connected
Mission: The Wisconsin Safe & Healthy Schools Center builds the capacity of Wisconsin School Districts to implement programs that effectively prevent and intervene in alcohol and other drug abuse and violent behaviors among students in order to reduce these barriers to learning.
|
| Wisconsin Safe and Healthy Schools |
Preventing Underage Drinking in the Age of Technology
In August, the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center held the "2012 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Symposium" in Virginia. The symposium focused on best practices, proven tools, new resources and sustaining EUDL programming efforts. One of the presentations was titled; "RU DRKN 2NITE-Challenges Addressing Underage Drinking in the Digital Age".
Today Facebook has over 94 million users in the United States. The average user spends approximately 15 ½ hours a month on Facebook. Of these users 20% are ages 13-17 and another 25 % are 18-25 years of age. Another popular social media site is YouTube which has a billion search queries a day. Every minute, 60-hours of video are uploaded using YouTube. Studies by doctors at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and UW-Madison School of Medicine & Public Health show technology use by teens is linked to unhealthy behavior.
The PowerPoint of the presentation "RU DRKN 2NITE-Challenges Addressing Underage Drinking in the Digital Age" can be found at
http://www.udetc.org/symposium2012presentations.htm
Here you will find more statistics and the sources to the above mentioned studies. This presentation focuses on; how youth access social network sites and its impact on their behavior, how advertising affects youth consumption and how the alcohol industry is using social media to market its products to both youth and adults. Among other issue, this presentation gives examples of what coalitions, parents, law enforcement and others can do if they are concerned with the issue of underage drinking in the age of technology. |
|
DPI Updates from the Student Services Wellness and Prevention Department |
|
PREPaRE Workshop #1: Prevention and Preparedness:
Comprehensive School Safety Planning (2nd Edition)
In this newly updated workshop, participants will learn how to establish and sustain comprehensive school safety and crisis prevention and preparedness efforts. With updated research and strategies, this workshop makes a clearer connection between ongoing school safety and crisis preparedness. It also will emphasize the unique needs and functions of school teams and the steps involved in developing these teams, including a model that integrates school personnel and community provider roles. The PREPaRE model builds on existing personnel, resources and programs, and can be adapted to individual school needs and size. Finally, the workshop explores how to prepare for school crises by developing, exercising, and evaluating safety and crisis plans. This workshop is an excellent course for mental health and educational professionals (School counselors, administrators, teachers, school social workers, school nurses, school psychologists, school liaison/resource officers) working at all grade levels in your district that help establish a safe school climate and respond to crises.
Date:Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Wausau
| | | |
Unmasking Bullying and Covert Aggression (workshop)
Each day, in the U.S. alone, 160,000 children miss school for fear of being tormented by their peers. No child should have to endure name-calling, rumors, gossip, exclusion or bullying from their peers. Participants in this workshop will leave with a better understanding of the roles bystanders play in bullying situations and practical strategies and activities to empower the
bystanders to safely intervene and help create safe social climates for all.Research shows that bystanders intervene in bullying situations only 15% of the time; however, they can improve the social climate 80% of the time. It truly takes just one voice, one act, to make a world of difference.
Dealing with Mental Illness in the Classroom: Strategies for Helping Students with Mental Health Issues in Today's Schools (workshop)
There are ever increasing number of student who are being diagnosed with mental health issues. It has been estimated that there is approximately 10% of the student population meet the criteria for the diagnosis of depression and 17% with generalized anxiety disorder. It is common for students with these disorders to experience academic and behavioral struggles each day. Participants will learn about the diagnostic characteristics of depression, bi-polar disorder, anxiety and Pervasive Development Disorders. Classroom interventions will be offered to assist students both academically and behaviorally so that they can be successful both in and out of school. This course is designed for teachers and administrators.
Another Mental Health Workshop-
It's Time! Addressing Mental Health of Children in the Classroom
Please check out the times and dates of a workshop near you on our website at www.wishschools.org The center feels so strongly about meeting the needs of our children that we have offered two mental health workshops this year.
Good Drugs Gone Bad (workshop)
Eighteen percent of Wisconsin high school students have reported taking a prescription drug without a doctor's prescription (2011 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
Teens don't see this behavior as risky. They see their parents taking medicine- and they believe that since medicine is created and tested in a scientific environment it is therefore safer to use than street drugs.
Come and learn about the real dangers of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse. Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic, cutting across geographic, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic boundaries. Two-thirds (65 percent) of teens who abuse prescription painkillers say they got them from family members and friends (NSDUH, 2010).
Learning Objectives-Participants will:
Learn about the growing problem of prescription drug and OTC drug abuse.
Become familiar with emerging drug trends.
Experience using the
Good Drugs Gone Bad Toolkit
Each participant will receive a copy of the Good Drugs Gone Bad Toolkit
|
|
Growing up Drug-Free: A Parent's Guide to Prevention (2012) has been released! The U.S. Department of Justice partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to revise this publication that was originally published in 1998. The 55-page booklet is organized in 6 major sections: 1) How This Book Will Help You? 2) What Substances Do Kids Use? 3) Why Do Kids Use Drugs? 4) How Do I Teach My Child About Drugs? 5) What If I Think My Child is Using Drugs? 6) Resources. Parents and caregivers will find this publication a user-friendly and valuable guide for what to do and how to communicate about the harmful effects of illicit drugs and alcohol to children from elementary through high school.
This publication, and other related resources is online in the publications section of: www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com
Source: U.S. Department of Education |
|
Schools and Suicide Prevention
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death among ages 10-24, millions in this age group attempting suicide each year. Victims of bullying are between two and nine times more likely to consider suicide than nonvictims, stated from research done at Yale University's school of medicine.
45 states have passed legislation requiring bully prevention programs and to have a reporting policy and procedure in place for grades K-12. Wisconsin is included in this type of legislation http://sspw.dpi.wi.gov/sspw_safeschool
Yet, legislation requiring suicide prevention in schools has been enacted in only a few states, Wisconsin has recommendations and trainings you can find on the Department of Public Instruction Website http://sspw.dpi.wi.gov/sspw_suicideprev
Should schools accept any responsibility for suicide prevention? Young people spend most of their time at school. According to a report by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, providing a safe enviroment is part of a school's mission. Students' mental health affects academic performance, and the suicide of a student will significantly impact the school community.
Suicide prevention starts with providing teachers and students with the skills necessary to identify and respond to individuals who are at risk for suicidal behavior. Depression screening program Signs of Suicide is cited by the national nonprofit Suicide Prevention Resource Center as evidence-based resources. The Center also just released a multitiered Suicide Postvention Toolkit for Schools.
Suicide takes the lives of approximately 4,600 young Americans each year. Beginning with a school/community suicide-prevention task force is a start to recognizing that preventing youth suicide is everyone's responsibiltiy.
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer -- 3 simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans, like you, are saying "Yes" to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. QPR can be learned in our Gatekeeper course in as little as one hour.
A Training of Trainers will be offered in a number of locations around the state. Please look for more information in our next newsletter. |
|
|
New resources have been added for crisis and trauma interventions. It is also a great place to view & register for all of our upcoming events or request a training or technical assistance in your area.
We hope you find this newsletter a valuable resource.
Happy New Year,
Tracy Herlitzke
Director, Wisconsin Safe & Healthy Schools Center
The Wisconsin Safe & Healthy Schools Center is a collaborative project between the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the CESA Statewide Network (CSN). |
|
|
|
Quick Links
| |
click on "myquickreg"
|
|
The Faces of Wisconsin Safe and Healthy School Center
Director: Tracy Herlitzke
Phone: 608-786-4838
North (CESA 5, 9, 12)
Coordinator: Lynn Verage
715-453-2141
West (CESA 4, 10, 11)
Coordinator: Carol Zabel
715-720-2145
Central (CESA 2, 3, 6)
Coordinator: Jackie Schoening
920-236-0515
East (CESA 1, 7, 8)
Coordinator: Christine Kleiman
920-465-2139
 | | |
|
|
