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High School Programs

Disclaimer: The programs on this page may have a cost associated with them. Additionally, some of these programs may have grant funding available in your state to pay for part, or the entirety, of the program's implementation costs. Please explore your options when considering one the programs on the list below. For other options, explore the Marijuana Use Prevention Additional Resources Page for state agency resources using the link below:

Each registry uses its own, unique review and rating process. View the Registry Programs help page for more information concerning each registry's rating and review practices. Additionally, as you scroll down this list of programs, keep in mind that they are in alphabetical order, continue scrolling down the page to see the full list of programs. For more information and help using this page, please visit the Registry Programs help page.

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Alcohol Literacy Challenge (for high school students)

Alcohol Literacy Challenge is a universal intervention for high school students and college students. In a single 60 to 90 minute group session, the intervention provides information about standard drinks, the range of alcohol expectancies, the difference between pharmacological effects and placebo effects, and efforts by alcohol companies to portray positive alcohol expectancies in advertisements. Part of the lesson involves watching video clips of commercials advertising alcohol. Students deconstruct the advertisements, identifying the positive alcohol expectancies conveyed and discussing the contradictions between those expectancies and alcohol's pharmacological and behavioral effects. In the high school version of ALC, students also divide into teams and assess the alcohol effects portrayed in alcohol-related video clips, earning points for correct answers. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS)

This program for male high school athletes involves 7 classes on the effects of anabolic steroids conducted by coaches, 7 weight training sessions, and one parent session during the sports season. (Source)

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 All

Resources

Case management in schools (including Communities in Schools)

Case management involves placing a full-time social worker or counselor in a school to help identify at-risk students’ needs and connect students and families with relevant services in and outside of the K–12 system. Three such models have been evaluated and are included in this analysis are (in no particular order) Communities in Schools, City Connects, and Comer School Development Program. In practice, each of these models includes other services (such as extended learning time and educator training), but the program evaluations focus on the impact of the case management component. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Communities That Care

Communities that Care (CTC) is a coalition-based community prevention program that aims to prevent youth problem behaviors including underage drinking, tobacco use, violence, delinquency, school dropout, and substance abuse. CTC works through a community board to assess risk and protective factors among the youth in their community using a population-based survey of young people. The board works to implement tested and effective programs to address the issues and needs that are identified. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Curriculum-Based Support Group (CBSG)

The Curriculum-Based Support Group (CBSG) program is a preventive intervention for youth between the ages of 4 and 17 identified as at-risk for future substance abuse, delinquency, and violence. The program is delivered in confidential small group sessions led by trained facilitators and is designed to help participants resist peer pressure, set and achieve goals, and make healthy choices. In the study included in this analysis, students in grades 2 through 5 participated in 12 weekly sessions. Each session lasted approximately one hour and group size was limited to 12 students. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 2 SOME

Resources

Familias Unidas

Familias Unidas is a family-based prevention program for Latino youth and their families. The program involves 8 parent group meetings and 4 home visits. Group sessions are facilitated by two therapists. The sessions focus on positive parenting, family communication, parental monitoring, and adolescent risk (substance use, HIV) behaviors. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Functional Family Therapy for substance-abusing adolescence (FFT-SA)

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a structured family-based intervention that uses a multi-step approach to enhance protective factors and reduce risk factors in the family. Functional Family Therapy is a Blueprint program identified by the University of Colorado’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 2 SOME
  • Tier 3 FEW

Keepin' it Real

Keepin' it REAL is a universal school-based substance use prevention program designed in multicultural settings for middle school students. The curriculum is taught by classroom teachers in 45-minute sessions once a week for ten weeks. Classroom sessions include group discussions, role playing, games, and five videos produced by youth, designed to teach students drug resistance skills. Our review of the program is limited to the curriculum as implemented by the original developers and does not reflect the alternative implementation model used by Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) America. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Marijuana Education Initiative (MEI)

MEI offers resources for parents and educators on the topic of marijuana. They also offer curricula available for purchase for elementary, middle, and high school. MEI online, subscription based courses cover topics like Marijuana Impact Awareness (Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced), Marijuana Intervention, Marijuana Infraction Response, Athlete Awarness, Marijuana and the Developing Brain, and Marijuana Education - "Out of the Box." 

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Mentoring for students: Community-based (Including Big Brothers Big Sisters)

Youth in the juvenile justice system are assigned to a mentor, typically a non-professional volunteer, who meets with the youth approximately once a week. Mentors help youth build social capital by engaging in pro-social relationships. Mentors assist youth in gaining access to community resources necessary for reentry (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous), attend social functions together (e.g., movies or sporting events), and help youth engage in positive decision-making and problem-solving. Mentors typically maintain a minimum one-year commitment to the youth/program. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT)

Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) is an integrative, family-based, multiple systems treatment for youth with drug abuse and related behavior problems. The therapy consists of four domains: (1) engage adolescent in treatment, (2) increase parental involvement with youth and improve limit-setting, (3) decrease family-interaction conflict, and (4) collaborate with extra-familial social systems. Youth are generally aged 11 to 16 and have been clinically referred to outpatient treatment. For this meta-analysis, two studies measured the effects of MDFT on delinquency and ten measured the effects on subsequent substance use. All 12 studies included youth who were referred from the juvenile justice system as well as schools, child welfare agencies, health and mental health agencies, and parents. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for juveniles with substance use disorder

Multisystemic Therapy—Substance Abuse (MST-SA) is a form of MST that is targeted toward youth who engage in disordered use of drugs and/or alcohol. MST-SA is intended to reduce drug use and abuse, as well as related delinquent or criminal behavior. MST-SA is delivered by therapists in the participants’ home, school, and community. MST-SA includes a specific written plan, intensive family-focused therapy, job training, and inclusion in positive activities (e.g., sports or clubs). This program also includes random drug testing and rewards for positive behavior (e.g., rewarding a clean urinalysis with monetary compensation). The average MST-SA treatment lasts four months, with several therapist-family visits occurring per week. Participants are typically referred to MST-SA from juvenile drug court or as a condition to probation. (Source)

Support Tier

  • Tier 3 FEW

Resources

Project ALERT

Project ALERT is a middle/junior high school-based program to prevent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. With over 11 sessions in the 7th grade and three boosters in the 8th grade, the program teaches students that most people do not use drugs and teaches them to identify and resist the internal and social pressures that encourage substance use. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Resources

Project Northland

Project Northland is a multilevel, universal intervention designed to prevent substance use among adolescents in middle school. The 6th grade home component targets parent-child communication via homework assignments, group discussions, and the establishment of a community-wide task force. The 7th grade school-based curriculum, which focuses on improving resistance skills and social norms regarding teen alcohol use, includes class discussions, games, and role playing. The 8th grade components include the peer-led Powerlines curriculum, a mock town meeting, and a community action project. Review is limited to the 6th-8th grade implementation model and does not include the Class Action high school component. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND)

Project Towards No Drug Abuse is a substance use prevention program for youth in regular and alternative high schools. The curriculum is comprised of twelve 45-minute lessons implemented in classroom settings by teachers or health educators. Using a variety of activities, the program aims to increase self-control, communication, decision-making, and motivation to not use substances. (Source)

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL
  • Tier 2 SOME

Raising Healthy Children

Raising Healthy Children is a long-term school-based prevention program designed to increase students' bonds to school and prevent problem behaviors. The intervention begins in grade 1 and continues through grade 7. Teachers in those grades attend workshops in classroom management, cooperative learning methods and strategies to promote student reading, participation and interpersonal skills. In grades 4-6, the program provides after-school tutoring and includes family participation workshops, after-school homework clubs, summer camp, and retreats for students. This study followed students who began the program in 1st and 2nd grade and measured until grade 10. The program is based on the model used for the Seattle Social Development Project, which is a shorter intervention. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

SPORT

SPORT is a school-based brief intervention implemented in high schools designed to promote a healthy lifestyle via improved physical activity, diet, and sleep. Students participate in a 12-minute one-on-one counseling session with a fitness specialist during which they receive a booklet and tailored consultation. Students then complete a fitness plan designed to create behavior change and an improved self-image. Flyers that complement the intervention's core content are sent to parents for four weeks post-intervention. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • High

Support Tier

  • Not Specified

Resources

  • Not Specified

Strong African American Families - TEEN

Strong African American Families - Teen is a five-week community-based program developed for 16 year-old African American youth and their caregivers. Families meet in interactive small groups with trained facilitators once a week for 2 hours. Lessons are intended to promote protective caregiving (setting limits, monitoring, racial pride and strategies for dealing with discrimination, monitoring and supporting academic achievement, and cooperative problem solving), as well as youth self-regulation. The aim of this program is to deter youth substance use, conduct problems, and depressive symptoms. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Teen Intervene

Teen Intervene is a brief motivational intervention for students using alcohol or drugs. School counselors identify youth suspected of using alcohol or drugs. Youth are then screened for substance abuse. Those meeting eligibility receive two 60-minute motivational interviews 7 to 10 days apart. In some of the studies included here the counselor also met separately with the parent, typically in the home. (Source)

Evidence-Based Registry Ratings:

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 1 ALL

Teen Marijuana Check-Up

Teen Marijuana Check-Up is a brief, school-based intervention for youth meeting diagnostic criteria for cannabis use disorders. Youth are introduced to the program via classroom presentations. Those who were concerned about reducing cannabis use are screened for eligibility. Participants receive two 45- to 60-minute motivational interviews a week apart. The intervention is provided during the school day without parental involvement. (Source)

Treatment Foster Care Oregon (Formerly: Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care)

Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) is an intensive therapeutic foster care alternative to institutional placement for adolescents who have problems with chronic antisocial behavior, emotional disturbance, and delinquency. MTFC activities include skills training and therapy for youth, as well as behavioral parent training and support for foster parents and biological parents. Participating youth are closely monitored by the foster parents. The length of the program varies, and ranged from 5 to 15 months. The studies in this meta-analysis compared MTFC to treatment as usual, which typically involved placement in a group home care institution. (Source)

Grade Level

  • Middle
  • High

Support Tier

  • Tier 3 FEW