Over the past two days, we have highlighted numerous ways that prevention contributes to academic achievement and multiple reasons for connecting prevention programming with education reform. Yet developing a compelling case for prevention that is both informative and easy-to-follow can be challenging. It requires planning: you must collect the right information, then figure out how to frame, advocate, and market it to the right people at the local, state, and national levels. Failing to take these steps may mean that you will be unprepared the next time a funding opportunity comes your way.

In this section, we will describe important variables to consider when developing your case. Then we will outline key components that should be included in your case presentation.

What to Consider When Creating Your Case

• Presentation goals. Make sure that your presentation makes a clear connection between prevention activities and academic success. State your goals and objectives up-front, and return to them throughout your presentation.

• Audience. The kind of information you include in your presentation will vary, depending on who you are talking to. Consider your audience and the issues and concerns most salient to them, then frame your presentation so that it addresses these topics. For example, when presenting a case to your school board for more funding, you will want to emphasize the relationship between prevention and improved test scores. However, a presentation to gain the support of faculty should also emphasize the ways prevention programming can improve classroom management.

• Presentation style. Presentations should be well-organized and jargon-free. Supplement your talk with handouts that are clear and well-produced. The use of charts and graphs is also very helpful. Allow ample time for questions and comments. Most importantly, keep your presentations short! There are limitations to the amount of information any group can absorb in a single sitting, or how long they can discuss sensitive issues, such as substance use and violence in their community.

• Relevancy. Whenever possible, compare local data to regional and state data. Bringing the information "home" will help strengthen your position.

• Timing. Make your initial presentations to school superintendents and administrators. Then request permission to be put on the agenda of an upcoming school committee meeting. The success of your prevention initiative depends on the support of school administrators: if you don't make a strong link between prevention and student achievement, you will face an uphill battle.

• Technology. Don't wait until the last minute to think about how you will make your presentation. Will you use overheads or PowerPoint? If you've never made a PowerPoint presentation, make sure to practice doing so ahead of time.

Key Case Components

While no two presentations are ever alike, it is important that you have a clear sense of what you plan to say -- and how you plan to say it -- before you begin. Here is one example of how you might organize a presentation linking prevention to academic success, and on the importance of including prevention activities in your school's educational reform efforts:

• Demonstrate the need in your school for substance use and violence prevention using local and state data. You may have already collected this data as part of your needs assessment or by participating in the online event Using Existing Data in Your Needs Assessment. Sources for risky health behaviors include the YRBS and health surveys. (For some examples, click here for graphs showing the need for substance use and violence prevention.)

• Demonstrate the need for improved academic achievement. Sources for indicators of academic success include data about student grades, performance on standardized tests, and numbers of unexcused absences and suspensions. (For an example, click here for a graph showing the need for improved academic achievement and related school behaviors.)

  You can compile your data using the Substance Abuse and Violence Indicators Tool.

• Explain how violence and substance use prevention programs are linked to academic achievement, using examples from current research.

• Describe local data that demonstrates a link between violence and substance use and academic achievement. (For some examples, click here for graphs showing links between substance use behaviors and academic achievement, and "lost days of learning" problem school behaviors.)

• Explain how your prevention program addresses your school's needs and supports academic achievement.

• If you don't have a prevention program in place, identify prevention programs that address the substance use and violence issues in your community and that also contribute to academic success.

Use the Building a Case Worksheet to organize your presenation.

Looking for another example? Click on a sample presentation made before the (fictional) Acme School Board.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Please think about these questions and post your answers, comments, or questions to the Discussion Area.

1. If you have already developed a case for linking prevention and academic achievement, what critical factors did you include?

2. How have your arguments varied by audience?

3. What challenges have you encountered in making your case, and how have you addressed them?