For more information contact Scott Gerbert, (925) 552-5030

The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSC) as Title IV, Part A of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) became effective on July 1, 2002. The purpose of the SDFSC is to support programs that prevent violence in and around schools; that prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; that involve parents and communities; and that are coordinated with related federal, state, school, and community efforts and resources to foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that supports student academic achievement.

The San Ramon Valley USD believes that research-validated effective drug and violence prevention programs will both prevent risk behaviors and create safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools conducive to setting high academic standards for all students. Youth development is essential to ensure that all students achieve academically. The programs we have selected are implemented with fidelity and evaluated regularly through the California Healthy Kids Survey and our District Climate Survey. The SRVUSD believes that a comprehensive drug and violence prevention program, with age-appropriate and developmentally based activities, must be coordinated with other school and community-based services. The programs selected by the SRVUSD:

• Address the consequences of violence and the illegal use of drugs, as appropriate
• Promote a sense of individual responsibility
• Teach students that most people do not illegally use drugs
• Teach students to recognize social and peer pressure to use drugs illegally and the skills for resisting illegal drug use
• Teach students about the dangers of emerging drugs
• Engage students in the learning process
• Incorporate activities that reinforce prevention activities implemented in elementary schools

As required by SDFSC and NCLB, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District has, after extensive research and review by teachers, PTA, and local community members, selected the following “research-validated” curricula:

Elementary Schools - used in ALL K-5 classrooms – The award-winning Second Step program teaches social and emotional skills for violence prevention. The program includes research-based, teacher-friendly curricula, training for educators, and parent-education components. For more information on the program, please visit their web site at http://www.cfchildren.org/cfc/ssf/ssf/ssindex/.

Secondary Schools – specifically taught in grades 6 and 9 – Too Good For Drugs™ is a school-based prevention program designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use among students. Too Good For Drugs™ has a separate, developmentally appropriate curriculum for each grade level. Each curriculum builds on earlier grade levels, an instructional design which enables students to learn important skills sequentially and retain them year after year. For more information on the program, please visit their web site at http://www.mendezfoundation.org/educationcenter/tgfd/index.htm

Other programs and services are used by schools and teachers throughout the district, but these are the programs supported district-wide.