Currently, thirty-seven states require schools to teach students about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. These prevention strategies often start at 5th grade and continue through high school. But some experts, including Dr. John E. Donovan of the University of Pittsburgh, believe alcohol education should begin as early as 4th grade.

"Our concern with underage drinking," he says, "needs to start in elementary school, not in high school or college." Dr. Donovan sites research that indicates 10 percent of 4th graders have already had a sip of alcohol.

But should schools shoulder the burden of this responsibility? Or should they to be a mere partner in a wider, more comprehensive community-wide effort? "Teachers don't have the time, training or other resources needed to do the job effectively," says Mathea Falco, president of Drug Strategies. "Regardless of what the state-mandated standards say,"

"Pragmatically, the pressures schools are now under to meet the academic testing standards under No Child Left Behind essentially leave them without any extra time that might be devoted to prevention."

Still, Falco believes there is a role for prevention in the schools. "It's the one place you have a captive audience outside of prison," she notes. "We can't abandon the goal of having effective prevention programs in our schools."

For more information:

NEA Drug Prevention Resources:
http://www.nea.org/webresources/drugprev0505.html

Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free:
http://www.alcoholfreechildren.org/en/text/audiences/educators.cfm

Join Together:
http://www.jointogether.org/keyissues/education

--Tim Walker

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