IN THE SCHOOL

Whatever your role in the school — teacher, principal, coach, nurse, or guidance counselor — you can play an important role in preventing underage drinking. In the school setting, children draw conclusions about alcohol use from what they see and hear about alcohol from their friends, classmates, and teachers. When schools establish alcohol policies that clearly state expectations and penalties regarding alcohol use by students, they help reinforce the fact that underage drinking is not an acceptable form of behavior.

In the school take these steps:

• Assess student drinking to determine the extent of the problem.

• Find out what factors may be contributing to student drinking in your school or community (e.g., easy access to alcohol, peer pressure, adults' failure to address the issue).

• Determine what steps, if any, are being taken within your school system to help young people resist the pressure to drink.

• Educate parents about underage alcohol use.

• Develop an active partnership with the families of your students.

• Implement school policies prohibiting alcohol use on school grounds.

For additional information, see also Statistics, The School and Information For You, Educators.