News Releases for October 2004
October 5, 2004
Contact: Jane Horien, Office of the First Lady, 701.328.1010
Erika Tower, Outside The Classroom, Inc., 877.338.5001 x237
First Lady Mikey Hoeven Brings Alcohol Prevention Curriculum To Local Schools
BISMARCK, N.D. - First Lady Mikey Hoeven announced today that Horizon Middle School, Simle Middle School, Wachter Middle School and St. Mary's Central High School will pilot an education curriculum designed to confront the growing problem of underage drinking. The four Bismarck schools will have access to an on-line course, AlcoholEdu for High School, that aims to help students make safer, healthier decisions about alcohol.
"Making this education available in our schools, engages our students and helps them better understand how alcohol affects the mind and body," said First Lady Mikey Hoeven. "Reaching out to our students and working together with our schools and parents, will help in our initiative to raise awareness about the problems of underage drinking."
AlcoholEdu for High School, developed jointly by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Boston-based Outside The Classroom, is a 90-minute web-based program incorporating proven prevention techniques with science-based alcohol education. Research has confirmed that youths who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependency problems later in life than those who don't. AlcoholEdu for High School provides an interactive experience that changes perceptions and motivates behavior change.
"When used with an entire population, such as a whole ninth-grade class, AlcoholEdu for High School leverages student social networks to create an 'epidemic' of healthy behavior," said Brandon Busteed, Founder and CEO of Outside The Classroom. "Because all students take the course, and each one does so in a personalized way, students are able to have a common bond of understanding about the dangers of alcohol and they talk to one another about it. That interactive dialogue is what creates a social safety net among their peers."
Preliminary results from an AlcoholEdu for High School pilot study show that the course improves alcohol-related behaviors of those students who complete the course. For instance:
- The percentage of students who thought underage drinking was not okay increased by 38% from the Pre-Survey to the Follow-up Survey - and, even the percentage of drinkers who thought drinking under 21 was not okay increased.
- After taking the course, the percentage of students who reported high-risk drinking behaviors, such as doing shots and playing drinking games, decreased
About MADD
MADD (www.madd.org) is the premiere organization working to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. MADD is a 501(c) 3 charity with 600 chapters and 2 million members nationwide. Nearly 270,000 lives have been saved since MADD's founding in 1980.
About Outside The Classroom
Outside The Classroom (www.outsidetheclassroom.com) was founded to address critical behavioral health issues. The company offers three AlcoholEdu courses - AlcoholEdu for College designed for college students, AlcoholEdu for Sanctions aimed at college students who have violated alcohol policies and AlcoholEdu for High School developed for high school students. Outside The Classroom collaborates with many prominent organizations, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).
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