The Drug Education School Program evolved from the widely expressed concern that there should be an alternative to jail for simple drug offenses, but one that requires more than merely a fine.

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The Curriculum:

The DES Program was developed using the framework of instructional design guidelines within a systems approach model. A system is technically a set of interrelated parts, all of which are working together toward a defined goal. The parts of the system depend on each other for input and output, and the entire system uses feedback to determine if its desired goal has been reached. If it has not, then the system is modified until it does reach the goal. The purpose of the system is to bring about learning. The components of the system are the learners, the instructor, the instructional materials, and the learning environment. These components interact in order to achieve the goal. The systems approach models are an outgrowth of more than twenty years of research into the learning process.

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The Students:

A "typical" student is a first time offender charged with a first offense involving paraphernalia or misdemeanor drug possession. They are usually Probation or Judge referrals and pre-court referrals. Predominately a younger student, the need calls for a secondary prevention curriculum. The aim of secondary prevention is to identify those individuals who are abusing alcohol or other drugs and to refer them for appropriate intervention. Alcohol or other drug use has become a problem, which requires DES intervention.

DES students have suffered at the very least a serious legal consequence due to their usage making them prime secondary prevention intervention targets. At this early stage of their usage, they need an education that not only gives them the "truth" about alcohol and other drugs, but also allows them a process to help assimilate this information into their own personal lives. The process gives the student an opportunity to develop a personal substance usage plan that will facilitate living a successful life.

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Student Goal:

"As a result of the DES program intervention, the student will be able to identify a personal plan reflective of an informed self assessment, resulting in the elimination, avoidance or reduction of substance usage and related consequences, including recidivism."

A student-oriented goal has been adopted for the DES student. The goal describes what the student will be able to do after instruction, rather than what the instructor was going to teach. The goal does not say that the student has to develop a plan to stop using substances of abuse. It states that the student only needs to be able to develop an appropriate plan based upon their new knowledge and self-assessment. The distinction between the two is essential because it dictates what instructional content should be taught.

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The Program:

What does the DES student need to be taught in order for them to achieve the DES student goal? It is a developmental process that consists of five specific content areas:
· Program awareness - "Setting the Table".
· Teaching facts about mood altering substances - "Just the Facts".
· Assimilation of the facts to personal experience - "Student Assessment".
· Development of a personal usage/life plan - "Student Decision".
· Life after the DES program - "Clearing the Table".

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