 |
||||||
|
|
Programs ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs) Substance abuse education and prevention continues to be one of our primary focuses. The prevention counselors/specialists provided substance related education to 5,843 students by completing 1,480 ATOD classroom lessons to the 6th through 9th grade student population between February 2010 and January 2011. They also provided classroom lessons to the 10th grade student population through counselor-created curriculum that focused on prescription drugs, marijuana, over-the-counter medications, and alcohol awareness. By surveying students in those grades annually, SS/HS is able to focus our interventions by substance and grade level. Bullying Prevention Program and Public Service Announcements We developed a comprehensive district-wide bullying program consisting of monthly topics, classroom lesson plans, PSAs, morning announcements, a bullying reporting form, student/parent/staff pledges, and a professional development series that ties our program into the Character Counts program already embedded in the District’s culture. The program also created a student leadership “round table” group at each of the schools. These groups allow for student-driven campaigns that can be adapted to fit each school’s culture and needs while addressing bullying issues. Some of these groups work together to conceive, write, and perform in anti-bullying PSAs which then are aired during morning announcements at the schools, are used in classrooms across the District, are featured on the individual school websites, and are posted on YouTube for viewing by the general public. The students have created powerful, thought-provoking PSAs that confront many different types of bullying. View these by clicking “Videos” on the left-hand side, then selecting the PSA you’d like to watch. CUTS/CUTS Lite We hold weekly CUTS (Court Unified Truancy Suppression) and CUTS LITE (Limited Intervention to Educate) hearings in cooperation with the Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department. Since truancy, known as a “gateway offense,” often leads to further delinquent activity, we utilize our diversion and intervention programs in lieu of fines and/or possible incarceration for the students and/or their parents. The CUTS/CUTS LITE program has proven that the collaboration between the school, the parents, the student, and the probation department can be effective in reducing truancy and subsequently curbing delinquent behavior as well as increasing promotion rates of students. Additionally, it highlights the value of the diversion programs in providing valuable alternatives to behavior that could otherwise cause students far more serious problems. Diversion/Intervention Programs The Diversion/Intervention programs allow students to participate in a District-approved diversion program in order to reduce suspension penalties given for disciplinary infractions. These programs incorporate a 3-step model using punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation as their focus.
D.R.A.F.T. (Dysart Recreation After School for Teens) SS/HS began the D.R.A.F.T. program in 2009 at two elementary schools, and has opened two additional sites each school year. The goal of the D.R.A.F.T. program is to give 7th and 8th grade teenagers a safe place to hang out after school while encouraging healthy decisions, community service, and positive relationships with their peers. The program allows them to provide input into programming, empowering them in their decisions and choices while increasing social skills, improving activity levels, enhancing student/school connections, and increasing student self-esteem. Although the program is student-driven, it is facilitated by staff members to ensure the safety of the students. Mock Crash
Peer Mediation DUSD’s peer mediation program was developed by two SS/HS prevention counselors during the 2009-2010 school year. That same year, these prevention counselors coached all remaining prevention counselors as well as other identified District school staff on the program. The peer mediation program focuses on teaching alternative strategies to solving conflict with other students. The teen mediators apply their problem-solving skills to assist their peers in settling disputes which teaches everyone involved that positive conflict resolution can lead to healthy outcomes; there are alternatives to violence by keeping minor incidents from escalating into more serious events. Additionally, the skills learned can transfer into the teens’ personal lives and their adulthood.
|
|||||
| Webmaster | Student Services | Prevention | Safe Schools Hotline | Back to dysart.org | ||||||
| The Dysart Unified School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or age in its programs or activities. For information regarding discrimination grievance or complaint procedures contact the Executive Director of Employee and Community Relations at 623.876.7000. | ||||||
commonly practiced “punitive justice.” That means that actual teen defendants who have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses such as shoplifting, curfew violation, or minor consumption may be referred to Teen Court for a hearing where the Teen Court members listen carefully to the testimony and determine consequences. Teen Court volunteers aim at restoring justice to the community and to the victim as well as instilling a sense of wrong doing in the defendant. DUSD students assume scripted roles such as Jury Member, Jury Foreperson, Bailiff, Case Attorney, Victim’s Advocate, and Clerk. Volunteers who had completed Advanced Attorney Training also served in the Prosecuting and Defending Attorney roles. Our students learn valuable lessons about the law and the judicial system and, perhaps most importantly, about citizenship as they work to improve their community and the lives of other teens. 
Each spring, the SS/HS program is instrumental in producing a Mock Crash at one of the grant high schools to show the devastating effects of destructive decisions like drinking and driving. The Mock Crash, coming just days before the Junior/Senior Prom, makes it only too clear to students that how they choose to celebrate their prom can have far-reaching and possibly fatal consequences. From the startling moment of a collision between two vehicles – each carrying a couple to the prom – teens and invited members of the community watch as four talented theater students present a dramatization of a head-on collision. They are joined by the very real and very professional first responders of the Surprise Police Department and the Surprise Fire Department then later by the medics of Air Evac. These individuals take the audience through every step vital to saving a life during the “golden hour” following a crash.