First Year of New Student Assistance Model a Success!

Last year, the PSESD Prevention Center's Student Assistance Prevention-Intervention Specialist Program (SAPISP) partnered with the Tobacco Prevention Program to provide high quality direct services to secondary schools throughout the region. This was a change from previous years where funds were allocated to the districts to individually develop services.

This “new way of doing business” streamlines service delivery, support school efforts more efficiently, and improves student outcomes towards alcohol, tobacco and other drug-free schools in our region. After one year operating with this model, we are proud to announce positive outcomes!

In the 55 schools that received direct services through the ESD employees for the SAPISP program, our biggest impact was related to seat time (participants reported a 26% reduction in skipping school), and in tobacco (a 27% reduction in cigarette use when that was the identified goal).

Additional outcomes show:

•  41% decrease in binge drinking

•  41% decrease in marijuana use

•  38% fewer students identified having gotten trouble in school

•  42% fewer were suspended.

Through the partnership with Tobacco prevention, this program increased the number of parent events, TATU [Teens Against Tobacco Use) and prevention clubs, and tobacco diversion and cessation services.

In the 2008-09 school year, the program will expand its focus by strengthening School Student Assistance teams and ESD/community partnerships.

For more information on the Prevention Center's SAPISP services, contact Dan Bissonnette, Pierce County program manager, 253-778-7803, dbissonnette@psesd.org or Jill Patnode, King County program manager, 425-917-7839, jpatnode@psesd.org.

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