STORIES
Project Northland
by Kim Styron - Programs Director
by Kim Styron - Programs Director
Project Northland is a parent, school and community-wide program implemented by the Coalition in the Middle Schools in Jackson County. It is designed to be alcohol specific, but has proven also to significantly reduce marijuana and tobacco use.
In the Fall of 2002 the first Jackson County students were introduced to Project Northland. It has been a hit with the students, parents and teachers alike since then. The Coalition is still going strong with the program beginning its 6th year of implementation! We have already completed the program in the 7th grade at Ocean Springs Middle School and the 6th and 7th grade at Colmer Middle in Pascagoula this school year.
We use the concept of a continued intervention during the years when most students begin experimentation and use of alcohol and other drugs. Each unit reinforces the learning in the previous year. We have a 6th, 7th and 8th grade program and have just recently started offering a new program to 10th grade students. Each year the sessions cover a little more information and education. We begin in the 6th grade with "Slick Tracy" revealing facts/myths about alcohol. The program continues in the 7th grade with "Amazing Alternatives" with students participating in various peer-led discussions about ways to say no and identifying advertising messages. We finish up in the middle schools with "Powerlines" for the 8th grade with ways for our teens to redefine community and empower them to present ideas on solutions to underage drinking.
The newly introduced high school component, "Class Act" lets students participate in a mock court setting with cases involving alcohol.
The Coalition employees three part-time "Prevention Specialists" that go into the classroom. The students really look forward to them. "It is very rewarding to have a student in the 8th grade recall the concepts that we taught to them in 6th and 7th grade," comments Amy Wilson, one of the trainers for the classes. "It means we are getting through to them and making a difference."
