INFORMED: 8th grade Drug and Alcohol Education

As a school counseling intern at a Kindergarten through 8th grade school in a neighborhood

lacking obvious drug and alcohol problems, I started to wonder what the transition to high school
would be like for the students at our school. I delivered a needs assessment to the 8th grade
classes hoping to get a glimpse into their current relationship with drugs and alcohol. Although it
was a relief to see that none of our students anonymously disclosed drug or alcohol use, it also
concerned me to think about the upcoming transition to a comprehensive high school where they
would, without a doubt, be immersed in an atmosphere in which they would need to have a
concrete understanding of the implications of using drugs and alcohol in order to create and
communicate the boundaries that they believe are right for them.
My project aims to give 8th grade students at Catherine Blaine the information they are lacking
about the neurological and developmental impact of drugs and alcohol. This year I am using the
information I gathered through the needs assessment as a guide to educate our students through a
series of 5 weekly 30 minute lessons and an one hour long presentation by a professional speaker
versed in communicating with youth about substance abuse.
The old, Just say No campaigns failed to address the needs of students and the realities of the
choices they face today. My project is designed to allow youth to understand the impact
substances of abuse have on their central nervous system. In a science-oriented , age-appropriate
fashion, we will discuss basic reward/pleasure center functions and the physiological process of
learning in light of the progressive loss of control someone might experience as a result of drug
use. We will use simple fun examples and stories that are easy for students to relate to. The
overall objective is to provide students accurate information so they can, in turn, be educated
decision makers when it comes to substance use.
Learning Objectives:

Students will understand the nature of the central nervous system as a complex, yet
vulnerable, system of control.
Students will gain insight into the physiological process of learning.
Students will be able to distinguish between complex reactions, like judgment, and
instinctual responses such as fight or flight.
Students will grasp the basic neurological communication process of the central nervous
system.
Students will understand how substance use progressively impacts brain functioning,
eventually interfering with the ability to discontinue use.

If I were awarded the Awesome Foundation grant, the money would be used to pay for a
professional speaker to visit for the next 3 years. My hope is to have the INFORMED program to
be implemented into the 8th grade curriculum each year to prepare the students at Catherine
Blaine to make educated choices regarding their drug and alcohol use as they transition to high
school. The money would ensure the program would continue to aid students in the years to
come, and that the program will eventually be recognized by the ASB and PTA as a program
worth funding internally in the future.

My name is Shanell Meredith. I am a graduate student Seattle Universitys School Counseling

program. Watching the painful path addiction has on the lives of my loved ones has allowed me
to fully invest in the positive outcome of drug and alcohol education for students. I do not want
to witness the loss of another life because of a misunderstanding of the seriousness of early age
addiction.