Broward County Public Schools established the Office of Prevention Programs (OPP) 25 years ago as a resource to assist public/charter/private schools in mental health preventive intervention services, substance abuse and violence prevention efforts.  The OPP has worked with schools to develop and implement numerous programs to increase academic performance while preventing and intervening with suspected substance abuse and/or violence. To date, the best methods proven to prevent or reduce rates of substance abuse and violent behavior among youth utilize school-based early intervention and prevention efforts, coordinated with broader environmental strategies that address change not only at the individual, classroom, and school levels, but also at the family and community levels.

Please click on each of the four strands of prevention below to view Resources & Links:

1) Health and Wellness Resources & Links,

2) Instructional Strategies Resources & Links,

3) Substance Abuse Prevention Resources & Links, and

4) Violence Prevention Resources & Links.

What are the Programs and Curriculum that OPP recommends?

There are innumerable programs and curriculum available, but we want to ensure our valuable resources (time, staff, and money) are well spent.  For this reason, when determining which programs might suit your needs best, we strongly encourage the use of Evidence Based Programs (EBPs).  EBPs have been proven to have greater effectiveness and accountability of prevention and intervention than non-researched programs.

To help determine what program or curriculum might best suit your school’s needs, we recommend you visit Welcome to the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), a service of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  NREPP is a search-able database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders with brief summaries and contact information for programs reviewed by SAMHSA.

Some of the programs and/or EBPs that OPP has utilized:

• CONNECT! with Kids
• Get Real About Violence
• Skills for Managing Anger
• Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
• Too Good for Drugs^TM

Although it is impossible to collect all the resources available, OPP strives to keep up with the latest in research and resources, and make some of our favorites available on our website.  On the Resource webpages, you will find some of the proven programs we have utilized along with download-able documents, curriculum and links to relevant web-pages, articles and books.  These resources are varied and as you explore you will find most websites have areas dedicated to parents, students, communities and professionals (counselors, teachers, etc).

“If it’s FREE, it’s for ME!”

We are constantly looking for new and better yet, FREE RESOURCES for teachers, parents and students.  Below is a PDF of some that we have found.  The list is in no way complete and is constantly being updated, so if you have anything would like to share, please email Aimee.C.Wood@browardschools.com and we will try to include the resource.   Please click here to view the list of FREE Prevention Resources divided into the prevention strands as a PDF (6/10).

Final Points:

• A program or website being mentioned here does not imply endorsement by the School Board of Broward County and does not necessarily reflect its views.
• Content of programs, websites, and research results are hard to keep up with, making it very difficult for practitioners to remain knowledgeable of available EBPs and select from them wisely – so check back with the database regularly.
• NREPP does not provide an exhaustive list of interventions or endorsements of specific interventions.
• Please note that it is critically important to consider BOTH evidence AND feasibility in selecting an EBP for your district/school/class. While many of the programs listed in the EBPs NREPP have high levels of evidence, they may not be feasible for you.
• For current information on these programs and websites, please contact the program developers and visit the links directly.

If you have found a great resource you would like to share with us, please feel free to email us at:   aimee.c.wood@browardschools.com

NEW Resource Announcement for Parents!

The Office of Parent Involvement is proud to announce the launch of the new Parent Involvement Web site.  The site is parent-friendly, informative, easy to navigate and has everything parents need to get involved and stay involved in their child’s education. Some of the highlights include information about:

- Virtual Counselor

- Academic information

- Pinnacle

- FCAT

- Graduation Requirements

- Service Hours

- Support services

- Policies

- Communication with faculty and staff

- Ways to get involved at school

…And much more!

Take a look, you can access the site by going to

Broward Schools and clicking on “Parents“

For more information, please contact Paul R. Gress, Coordinator, Parent Involvement,Parents, Business and Community Partnerships, Broward County Public Schools, Phone: 754-321-1970.