Of the many partnerships you will create during your MSC tenure, your planning team may be the most important. Team members will help guide the direction and scope of your prevention initiative and provide the necessary support and connections to launch and sustain program activities.

Each of our past online events touched on the importance of assembling planning teams to guide and support your work, either to help you conduct your needs assessment or to guide your prevention planning. But, as many of you have shared in your online discussions, bringing together such a group is not always easy. How do you get started? Whom do you invite? What elements comprise an effective team? This section describes a five-step process for bringing together partners who can help you plan and implement your prevention initiative, followed by tips for keeping the team running smoothly.

Part 1: Taking Off

• Articulate a vision

• Connect with existing teams

• Select partners

• Include parents

• Form a team

Articulate a vision. One of the primary reasons many school-community partnerships fail is lack of vision: Members don't know why they have been brought together or where they should be going. Most of your prospective partners will no doubt be overworked and overextended. Even if substance use and violence prevention is a concern, it may not be their top priority. Your ability to articulate a vision is key to bringing colleagues on board and building enthusiasm for your prevention initiative.

So . . . before picking up the telephone or cornering a colleague in the hallway, sit back and think through your reasons for organizing a planning team and deciding who should participate.

Consider these questions:

• What role will the team play in determining the direction and scope of your prevention efforts?
• How do you envision the team working together?
• What would you like the team to accomplish in both the short and long term?

Knowing why you are collaborating and what you hope to accomplish is the first step to establishing an effective partnership. Once you can clearly articulate your vision, share it with prospective partners. As your team comes together, a "team vision" will emerge. Value the input and expertise of your team members and work together to create a new, shared vision of how the group will move forward. Write down the vision and post it, publicize it, and reiterate it at group meetings.

Connect with existing teams. Once you have clarified your vision, find out what teams are already in place in your school. Are there ways to coordinate your agenda with theirs? For example, most schools have several teams dedicated to increasing student achievement or related reform agendas. Try to find ways to have a voice on these committees and incorporate your prevention goals into overall school reform efforts. In some cases, it may make sense to join an existing team and strengthen those partnerships with your presence rather than to create a brand new team.

Similarly, look at what people outside the school setting (e.g., community-based organizations, health and social service systems, law enforcement agencies) are doing to prevent substance use and violence, and consider ways your efforts can complement or enhance theirs. By connecting with a variety of community representatives, you can improve your understanding of how their respective agencies and organizations operate.

Select partners. Once your purpose is clear and you have scoped out the terrain, begin identifying the specific people, systems, and resources that are available to help you bring about change. Make sure you can articulate why their participation is critical; this will enhance your ultimate recruitment efforts. Be specific about what you need and knowledgeable about what they can offer, and think about how the partnership will benefit them. Finally, be discerning: You want a team comprised of school and community representatives who are in the best position to move your initiative forward; not just those most willing to participate or who are trying to further their own agendas.

Include parents. Parent involvement is valuable at every stage. No one has a greater vested interest in children than their parents. Their participation is key for several reasons:

• When parents are involved in children's education, the benefits are many: Children achieve higher grades and better school attendance; they exhibit more positive attitudes and behaviors; graduation rates are higher; and children enroll in higher education in greater numbers.

• Parental involvement in your prevention initiative can be a catalyst for increased parental participation in other school activities.

• Parental involvement will result in a prevention program that is more responsive and equitable to all children.

• Parental involvement provides an opportunity to influence family and community norms that may support underage drinking and violent behavior.

Several recent surveys have found that educators and parents generally agree that children do better in school when parents are involved in their education. For example, in a survey conducted by the National PTA in 1998, 91 percent of parents polled felt it was extremely important for parents to be involved in their children's education. Unfortunately, many school-based programs struggle with establishing strong partnerships with parents. It is not a lack of interest that keeps parents and families from being involved in programs designed to improve the health of their children; rather, there are often genuine barriers blocking the way. The challenge is to overcome these barriers and help parents become meaningful contributors.

Click on the icon for a tip for maximizing parental participation in your district's prevention initiative. (Click here to read these comments.)

Finally, form the team! In any school or community, there will be varying levels of interest, expertise, and questions about substance abuse and violence prevention. How or if people join your planning team or support your initiative will largely depend on two things: Motivation and time.

Each of your potential players will have unique reasons for joining or not joining your team. You will need to understand and appeal to their specific motivations in order to bring them on board. For example:

• Principals, parents, and school committee members want academic success.

• Community and school leaders and professionals need to feel that they are meeting the needs of students.

• Principals need to be aware of and involved in all that is going on in their schools.

• Teachers who are long-frustrated by increasing levels of social or psychological problems that interrupt instruction might welcome a constructive venue for addressing these issues.

• Health specialists, nurses, guidance counselors, and social workers may be interested in developing or revising new health curricula.

• Agencies can improve service integration and their own ability to reach students at risk for drug use and violence by linking with schools.

Unfortunately, motivation isn't everything. Even the most motivated person may simply be too busy to sign on to your planning team. Try scheduling meetings at convenient times and places to make it easier for those who are already stretched to the limit to attend.

As you approach potential members, recognize that even those with the greatest motivation and flexibility may at first be resistant to signing on. Be patient. Recruitment takes time! It may take several conversations to help them understand why they should care about your initiative, how it will affect the work they do, and why their participation on your planning team is critical.

Tip Sheet: Concerns of Potential Team Members

 

Click on the icon for a tip for one possible recruitment strategy. (Click here to read these comments.)