A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
Delta Junction, Alaska

Partners:

Delta/Greely School District REAA #15 Family Centered Services of Alaska, Inc. State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Youth Corrections

Delta/Greely School District, located in rural central Alaska, includes four communities in a geographic area about the size of New Jersey, situated 120 miles from Fairbanks. The school district serves 1,600 students in 3 elementary schools, one middle school, one alternative school, and one high school. Russian/Ukrainian immigrants make up 18% of the student population; more than 6% qualify as new immigrants, having arrived within the past 3 years. Another 18% are from military families. In 1990, 12% of the area population had incomes below the poverty level. Currently, 48% of students qualify for free/reduced lunches. Students are at increased risk for several negative social indicators, including school violence; high alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use; truancy; and suicide and other emotional/behavioral disorders.

The partners will collaborate with the state of Alaska's Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and its Department of Health and Social Services, Youth Corrections, as well as Family Centered Services, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing mental health services to youth and their families. Other partner agencies are Alaska State Troopers, Fairbanks Community Health, Delta/Greely Community Public Health, and Fairbanks North Star Youth Court.

A comprehensive array of services, coordinated throughout the school district, will be implemented for high risk students (K-12) and their families to improve school safety, reduce or eliminate childhood risk factors before they develop into more serious problems, and better prepare students to learn. The home-based childhood development component will serve 100 high-risk families/children. Parents will learn parenting skills and children will engage in learning activities to increase healthy home involvement and increase children's development. The alcohol/drug use component provides prevention services to elementary schools and three counselors (one each at the middle school, high school, and alternative school). Additionally, an alcohol and drug awareness campaign will be conducted district-wide throughout the school year. In mental health, specially trained aides will work in each classroom in grades K-2 and an additional aide will rotate among 3rd grade classes. Their primary focus will be on students at high risk for developing mental health disabilities or those already identified as such. The summer program component will include four academic/computer technology classes, each serving 20 students, and two career counseling sessions, each serving 20 students. To ensure safe school district facilities, a community probation officer will serve all youth on court-ordered probation. (They are currently served via monthly telephone calls from officers in Fairbanks.) Youth will design and operate adolescent prevention programs by establishing a youth court.

The Delta/Greely Safe Schools Project will be evaluated by the University of Alaska using multiple evaluation methods that are evidence-based, and quantitative and qualitative in design.

-###-

[Jonesboro, Arkansas]