March 2004

Feature: The Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools—

Focusing on Prevention That Works

The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) in the U.S. Department of Education is one of the most important incubators of effective school-based prevention and health promotion programming today. OSDFS has its roots in the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program, first authorized by Congress in 1986 as a response to alarmingly high rates of alcohol and other drug use among children and youth. Previously, the Department had funded only technical assistance activities related to drug prevention, at a total of about $3 million annually.

Through the SDFSC program, the Department made grants totaling $200 million in fiscal year 1987, the first year of funding. The amount increased steadily, reaching $624 million in fiscal year 1992.

In 1994, the SDFSC program was reauthorized as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The most significant change was the inclusion of violence prevention activities and a focus on school safety. As noted by OSDFS Associate Deputy Under Secretary William Modzeleski in testimony to Congress in 1999, “Since many of the issues related to drug and violence prevention are interrelated, the revised [program] was intended to have school districts develop integrated programs that addressed student ‘risk factors’ that cut across alcohol and other drug use as well as violent behavior.”

With expanded funding and grant-making came a growing emphasis on program accountability. Especially significant in setting program accountability standards was the publication in June 1998 of the program's "Principles of Effectiveness." These principles require grant recipients to use objective data to identify their needs, establish measurable goals for their programs, implement programs of demonstrated effectiveness, and assess their progress toward achieving their goals. Throughout, the emphasis is on high-quality programs and results.

Another step in the program's evolution occurred in September 2002 when the Department announced the formation of a successor to the OSDFSC, the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS). According to Secretary of Education Rod Paige, OSDFS was designed to bring together into a single unit programs that were previously scattered among several different offices. "Folding all programs that deal with safety, health, and citizenship into one office will enable us to better respond to the critical needs of schools in these areas and also help us to develop a broad-based, comprehensive strategy," Paige said.

The 2005 proposed federal budget includes $838.9 million for OSDFS programs. Of this, $440.9 million is slated for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) State Grants to provide sustained support for drug and violence prevention programs in school districts and communities throughout the country. Among the many different programs administered directly by OSDFS, especially noteworthy in relation to social and emotional learning are the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, which OSDFS carries out in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); the Mentoring Program, which pairs at-risk youth with older mentors, a strategy that has been proven effective in many different settings; and the Character Education and Civic Education programs, which support activities to help students understand, care about, and act on core ethical and citizenship values. The scope of all the OSDFS programs far exceeds the limitations of this article. For more details, go to http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/programs.html.

The National Coordinator Program

One OSDFS program with which CASEL has worked closely is the National Coordinator Program. Originally funded in 1999 as the Middle School Drug Prevention and School Safety Coordinator Program, this initiative was reauthorized in 2002 to recruit, hire, and train individuals to serve as drug prevention and school safety coordinators in elementary, middle, and high schools with significant drug and school safety problems. The program provides support and technical assistance to coordinators across the country through its National Training and Technical Assistance Center. The Center's web site offers a wealth of prevention resources, including free online workshops on various implementation issues, information on model programs, and funding opportunities. The Center is operated by a partnership that includes CASEL, the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the Education Development Center (EDC), and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

"Through this program OSDFS has provided schools with a powerful resource to create and sustain prevention initiatives and SEL programming," says CASEL President Roger Weissberg. "It's a challenge to the coordinators because their roles are so demanding and diverse. But in so many cases they have met the challenge with a high level of energy and creativity."

Lisa Pisciotta provides an example of the kind of resourcefulness the coordinator role demands. Since January 2003 she has been the OSDFS coordinator at Kunsmiller Middle School in Denver, Colorado. When she came to the school, it was plagued by student conflicts and concerns about safety. Following a careful needs assessment, she and the school planning team recommended bringing in the highly rated, evidence-based Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. With the support of the principal and a team of teachers and other staff members, Pisciotta succeeded in implementing the program school-wide. One year later a student survey revealed significant declines in bullying and a more positive school climate. The school also adopted the Life Skills Training program to address concerns about drug and alcohol use. This, too, produced significant positive results.

"We have a principal and administration that really understand prevention," says Lisa Pisciotta. "We have such high needs. If we don’t focus on prevention efforts, the kids aren’t going to gain academically."

Pisciotta succeeded even though at first she encountered numerous obstacles. "People in the school weren’t sure in the beginning who I was," she says. "The teachers didn’t know if I was one of them or part of the administration. But I was able to talk about the positive effects of prevention efforts in the classroom. It took a lot of going into the classrooms, helping the teachers, negotiating, and building rapport before they understood I was there for them and wanted to help make the school better."

According to Pisciotta, "We have seen huge changes in the school's climate, teachers' satisfaction with their work, and the way the administration treats teachers. The bullying prevention program helps adults to understand that how we talk to people is really important. It's produced a climate change. We’ve seen a significant decrease in fights, threats, graffiti, and gang activity. These programs work beautifully together to support the school."

Joe Csira (pronounced SEER-a) is another coordinator who has experienced significant success. Based in Florida's Palm Beach County School District, he was originally assigned to one of the county's most troubled middle schools. "Our basic focus was trying to reduce the number of violent incidents on campus," he says. The answer lay in "creating an infrastructure within the school that worked to combat some of the barriers to learning such as alcohol, drugs, and violence." Csira worked closely with the school's administration to develop new policies related to appropriate behavior in school and then communicate these expectations to all students and staff. A major problem, for example, had been students wandering the halls during classes and getting into fights. Csira's solution: a uniform policy governing hall passes and permission to leave class. Very quickly the number of students in the halls diminished significantly.

New policies were accompanied by new programs. These included training students in peer mediation, conflict resolution, and effective leadership. "Within one and a half years we reduced the number of fights on campus by 52 percent," Csira proudly observes.

"If there had not been a coordinator program," he says, "a lot of the programming wouldn’t have happened. The job would have fallen on the guidance counselors. Each middle school counselor has a caseload of approximately 650 students, which leaves little time for other programming."

Csira notes that in the year during which fights at his school declined by 52 percent, the school increased its academic rating from C to B. "The kids felt safer, the campus was calmer, and more learning was going on," he says. "The big thing was that the fights in the hallways weren't happening to the extent they were previously. The kids were in the classrooms learning."

Future issues of CASEL Connections will profile other organizations that work to support evidence-based approaches to the social and emotional development of children and youth.