Schools: ATrusted Influence

Teachers, principals and other school officials work hard each day to offer the highest quality of education to Ohio's youth. However, education quality becomes a moot point when drug use impacts the attentions of Ohio's families.

Start Talking! asks Ohio’s schools to support this youth drug prevention initiative and help to build a drug-free future for Ohio’s students by utilizing the following resources: Parents360 Rx, Know! and 5 Minutes for Life.

Below are a few ways you can incorporate the drug prevention messaging throughout your school.

Start Talking! Tips for Schools

Share the drug-free message with parents, guardians and caregivers...
Forward the Know! Tips
Incorporate information from the Know! Tips in newsletters or other communications
Host a Parents360 Rx showing
Partner with PTAs or other organizations to creatively use Start Talking! materials
Provide Start Talking! information during assemblies, sports events or other events
Share the drug-free message with students...
Contact the State Highway Patrol to schedule a 5 Minutes for Life presentation
Share and retweet Start Talking! posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Hang Start Talking! posters in your buildings
Share the drug-free message with staff...
Forward the TEACHable moments
Start Talking! posters in your buildings
Disseminate hard copies of the Start Talking! materials
Host an event in partnership with Start Talking!

Teachers are powerful influencers in their students’ lives. What is shared in the classroom can positively impact a child’s decision not to use alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs. TEACHable Moments are specially designed tips for educators, sent out by email twice monthly for FREE, to help get those critical conversations started in the classroom.

5 Minutes for Life centers on Ohio State Troopers, Ohio National Guard members and local law enforcement talking for five minutes with student leaders, such as student-athletes, student council members, and band leaders before or after a practice or a meeting, about responsible decision-making, leadership and encouraging those in their peer group to live a drug-free lifestyle. This educational campaign aims to reduce and ultimately eliminate drug use among students.

The Health and Opioid Abuse Prevention Education (HOPE) Curriculum is a K-12 curriculum developed for schools to meet the requirements of HB 367. The HOPE curriculum is a series of lessons, assessments and learning materials to develop students’ functional knowledge, attitudes and necessary skills to prevent drug abuse. The HOPE lessons are designed to be part of a larger substance abuse prevention unit within a school’s health education curriculum.

Generation Rx is a prevention education program that offers engaging, age appropriate resources free of charge to teach everyone about using medications safely. Generation Rx, a partnership of The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and the Cardinal Health Foundation, is proud to be a part of the HOPE Curriculum. And we’re pleased to introduce the new Generation Rx Collaborate, designed to connect Ohio teachers with pharmacists and others in the community to bring more prevention education into the classroom. If you’re an educator, we invite you to learn more!

Elementary Student
Resources

Parents360 Rx
Action Toolkit

The Parents360 Action Toolkit is an easy-to-use tool you can use to share information with parents and other concerned citizens about the real dangers of medicine abuse and the actions that can be taken to prevent and respond to it.

The centerpiece of the Toolkit is the Parents360 Rx video, which was created to be delivered to parents and other caregivers in a relaxed, casual setting.

Parents360 Rx Video

The Parents360 Rx video includes a montage of compelling, real-life stories of five families' struggles with medicine abuse.

Click here the image above to view the video on YouTube.

Are you a Start Talking! Champion?

The State of Ohio would like to recognize schools and school districts that are delivering a strong drug-free message to their students, and can inspire others with their story. We know that you, for many years, have worked to ensure that your students have a safe place to learn and an environment where they can develop knowledge and skills to help them live drug-free lives. Please share with us how you have been working toward a drug-free future.

Start Talking!
Champion Application

Prescription Drug Education

House Bill 367 requires the Governor's Cabinet Opiate Action Team to make recommendations for instruction in prescription opioid abuse prevention and submit those recommendations to the Department of Education to publish the recommendations online. It also requires the board of education of each local district to select a health curriculum that includes instruction on the dangers of prescription opioid abuse.

Additional Opioid Abuse
Prevention Resources

Additional Resources

Start Talking! Tips:

Bipartisan Letter
to Superintendents