SAP COUNTY COORDINATION UPDATE

February, 2012

Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services Interagency Update

PDE 4092

The PDE 4092 has undergone revision and was field-tested by several school districts recently. The data entry is undergoing final development in response to the feedback from that testing and will go live sometime in March. A printable copy of the 2011-2012 PDE 4092 is now available at www.sap.state.pa.us to assist teams in preparing for entering their SAP data. Thank you to the school districts that tested the revision and for everyone’s patience during this time. The revised form along with the accompanying online instructions should provide for a timelier and uniform reporting process. If you have any questions please contact your PNSAS Regional Coordinator.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Student Assistance Program (SAP) which is administered

by the PA Department of Education’s Division of Office of Safe Schools in partnership with the PA Department of Health’s Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, and the PA Department of Public Welfare’s Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, is designed to assist school personnel in identifying issues including alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and mental health issues which pose a barrier to a student’s success.

In order to provide you, the SAP professional, with the current programmatic information, the PA Network for Student Assistance Services (PNSAS) is updating their contact lists for the Student Assistance Program statewide. We would appreciate your assistance in obtaining information from your building. If you have not responded to the email that was sent out in January, we need you, or a representative, to download the appropriate survey which can be found at http://www.sap.state.pa.us under the SAP Information Surveys heading and return it to your Pa Network for Student Assistance Services Regional Coordinator by February 10, 2011. Please also send a copy of your team’s SAP consent form. You can download the map of the SAP Regions and a list of the Regional Coordinators from the link under the SAP Information Surveys heading, also.

In an effort to assist counties with identifying resources for transition age youth and young adults, the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is collecting and compiling information to develop a resource guide about what programs/services exist that are aimed at addressing the needs of young adults. Please submit the following information listed to Doris Arena, PA, OMHSAS Transition Specialist. Her email is . If you have questions, Doris’ phone number is 717-772-7685. Please submit: your county, program, brief summary, funding

mechanism, contact person and any additional information. Your assistance in providing this information is greatly appreciated.

Governor Tom Corbett nominated Gary Tennis of Philadelphia to serve as Secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, which was created through Act 50 of 2010 by a bill (HB 1186) sponsored by the Republican Chairman of the House Human Services Committee, Representative Gene DiGirolamo. Tennis retired from his position as the chief of the legislation unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where he represented the District Attorney’s Association in matters before the General Assembly

RESOURCES

Pennsylvania Bullying Prevention Toolkit

Developed by the Center for Safe Schools with funding from the Highmark Foundation, the Pennsylvania Bullying Prevention Toolkit provides information about the issue of bullying and the role of adults and professionals in supporting children who are affected by it. This toolkit was developed with input from an interdisciplinary group of stakeholders. It is part of a multi-tiered strategy to promote coordination of bullying prevention efforts across the state of Pennsylvania and to encouragelocal communitiestodevelop effective, collaborativeapproaches tobullying prevention and intervention.

The PA bullying prevention toolkitis located at online at http://www.safeschools.info/docman/search_result (scroll down the page until you see the link.) The recorded webinar that introduced the toolkit is located at http://www.safeschools.info/bullying-prevention-toolkit. (Scroll down the page to the link.)

January2012edition of thePAPBS newsletter
Thethird edition of the newsletter of the Pennsylvania Positive Behavior Support Network hasbeen published. It contains information about the 2011-2012 SBBH performance grants, the third annual evaluation, news about the upcoming 2012 Implementers' Forum, two stories from school districts implementing PBIS,and other updates.Please feel free to print anddistribute the newsletter, located at www.papbs.org

“Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask” This new publication will help individuals and families struggling with addiction ask the right questions before choosing a drug treatment program. It was developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and is available to the public free online at http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/seeking-drug-abuse-treatment or in hard copy through NIDA's DrugPubs service.

RTI and Classroom & Schoolwide Learning Supports: A Guide for Teachers and

Learning Supports Staff

This guide is designed to

>broaden perspectives of response to intervention,

>provide frameworks for contextualizing the work in classrooms and school wide, and generally

>enhance practices.

It is divided into the following units:

I. Framing Response to Intervention in the Classroom

II. Pursuing Response to Intervention Sequentially and Effectively

III. Pursuing Response to Intervention as One Strategy in a Comprehensive System of Student and Learning Supports

Access at: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/rtiguide.pdf

HHS’ NIH’s NCI launches smoking cessation (SmokefreeTXT) support for teens

A new effort to help teens quit smoking will use one of today’s teen's most constant companions — the mobile phone. Developed by smoking cessation experts, SmokefreeTXT is a free text message cessation service that provides 24/7 encouragement, advice, and tips to teens trying to quit smoking. The initiative is led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The effort is a key component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' efforts to develop mobile health programs and is one of the core features of the new Smokefree Teen initiative (teen.smokefree.gov), an extension of NCI’s smoking cessation website, smokefree.gov. To learn more about Smokefree Teen and SmokefreeTXT, visit http://teen.smokefree.gov.

Drug-Free Action Alliance “Get in the Game”

The Super Bowl, which will be aired on NBC Feb. 5. The Drug-Free Action Alliance wants people to “get in the game” and participate in their Big Bowl Vote, which will reveal the youth appeal of alcohol advertising. Last year, more than 35,000 students in 42 states participated in the Big Bowl Vote and the group hopes to reach even more students this year. Through research, the coalition knows that the more youth are exposed to alcohol advertising, the more likely they are to participate in underage drinking.
Through a two-question student questionnaire given Monday morning following the Super Bowl, middle and high school students will share their impressions on what advertisements they remember seeing and which commercial was their favorite. The DFAA will collect and summarize the data, and you’ll receive the results just days after the Super Bowl.
This valuable, fresh and local information can then be used to educate parents, students, lawmakers and the media about the effects of alcohol advertising on youth. To gain access to instant feedback on the ads from youth, the alliance will also be encouraging middle and high school students to Tweet about their favorite and not-so-favorite commercials, during and after the big game. They will also be tossing out some questions specific to the alcohol ads to gain further insight. Go to http://www.drugfreeactionalliance.org/bigbowlvote
or contact Michelle Morse at for more information.

Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center Resource

New Product Release from Johns Hopkins Regarding Use of Digital Media to Target Youth. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has released new CAMY products related to alcohol industry shifts into social media as forms of marketing. A 4-part YouTube video series has been developed that charts the marketing push into digital markets such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. A new CAMY brochure was also released providing a data snapshot of underage youth exposure to alcohol marketing in magazines, social media and on radio and television. The full YouTube videos can be found here for viewing or download: http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnsHopkinsSPH

Funding Opportunities

Funding for Anti-Bullying Projects that Include the Bullying in Schools book from Townsend Press

1.  What’s available? In honor of its new book, Bullying in Schools, Townsend Press has made a commitment to help curb violence and intimidation in schools. As a result of this commitment, if your anti-bullying project proposal (for $400 or less in materials) includes the Bullying in

Schools book, it will qualify for a special Almost Home offer from Townsend Press. Within a month of posting, qualifying projects will appear with an Almost Home offer to bring their cost to $98 or less. Learn how Almost Home offers work.

Here are the kinds of projects they love:

- Creating Bully-Free Zones with Bullying in Schools from AKJ Books, anti-bullying posters, role playing cards, team building games, and character education kits to benefit students.

- Building your Classroom Library with the Bullying in Schools book, non-fiction work, and other resources that teach students tolerance and acceptance.

- Reading and listening centers including anti-bullying books, audio books, and DVD/CD listening centers.

- Flip cameras for your students to record documentaries, conduct peer interviews, or create elaborate skits that tackle issues of school violence, intimidation, or bullying.


2. Who qualifies? If you are a full-time teacher at a public school in need of anti-bullying project materials for your students, you can qualify for this funding!*
3. How do I participate? There are three easy steps to qualify for this funding:

 First, log in to your teacher account on DonorsChoose.org (if you don’t have one, any public school teacher can sign up at www.donorschoose.org/teacher).

 Once you’re logged in, submit a project for $400 or less in anti-bullying materials to teach about bullying in your classroom, including Bullying in Schools from AKJ Books.

 In your essay, clearly explain how each item you request will contribute to an effective anti-bulling curriculum. Projects that combine Bullying in Schools with unrelated classroom items, will not qualify for this offer.

Make sure to submit your request as soon as possible for the best chance of funding.
4. Then what happens? Within one month of posting, if your project meets the above criteria, you will see a Townsend Press logo on your project page with an offer to bring the project cost down to $98 and encouraging other donors to chip in and fund the rest!

* Some projects on the site will also qualify for a Double Your Impact offer from Townsend Press. This offer applies to projects that meet the criteria above, but do not include the Bullying in Schools book.

Funding Available for Your Students' Big Ideas

Have your students been talking about creating a sign language club or a school vegetable garden? Do you want to help them execute their ideas? DonorsChoose.org has an exciting new partnership with ABC Family that will help you support and empower your high school students. This new campaign, Bright Students, Big Ideas!, provides Double Your Impact match funding to champion all student-generated projects and

helps your students bring their big ideas to life! For more information go to http://abcfamily.go.com/site/brightstudents.

TRAINIng Opportunities

The Center for Safe Schools is pleased to announce the second session in the Operation: Military Kids! First Tuesday Online Training Series.

"Tools for Teachers: A Standards-Aligned Review of the Resources for Military Kids" will be held Tuesday, February 7, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Time). There is no cost to

participate. This training has been approved for 1.5 Act 48 credit hours. If you are interested in receiving Act 48 credits, a $10.00 processing fee must be forwarded to our office upon completion of the session. To learn more about this session and to register go to:
http://www.SafeSchools.info/mission-homefront/professional-development

Third Thursday Professional Development Series

The Center for Safe School’s is sponsoring a Third Thursday professional development series. The Highmark Foundation has provided funding for the 2011-12 Third Thursday series, which focuses on issues related to bullying. Go to http://www.safeschools.info/bullying-prevention/professional-development for more information.
Save these dates for future Third Thursday events, all of which will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The tentative schedule is:
Thursday, February 16, 2012: Cyberbullying Resources
Thursday, March 15, 2012: Bullying Prevention in High Schools
Thursday, April 19, 2012: Bullying and Hazing

PASAP Conference 2012

February 26, 27 and 28, 2012at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center located in

State College, Pennsylvania

Registration is now open. Please visit their website at www.pasap.org, click on Conference to review the many offerings. Don’t forget toregister before February 1, 2012, to access the early bird rate.

2012 STAR-Center

Conference Information

"PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM HARM"
King of Prussia, PA - Monday, March 19, 2012

Pittsburgh, PA - Friday, May 4, 2012

King of Prussia conference information is now available. Please go to http://www.starcenter.pitt.edu/files/document/KOP%20Brochure%202012.12.28.11.final.pdf to view the full program brochure.

Information regarding the Pittsburgh conference will be available soon. Please go to http://www.starcenter.pitt.edu/files/document/PITTSBURGH%20-%20Workshop%20Titles%20Only.pdf to view a list of some of the topics being offered

School Security Officer Institutes
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has contracted with the Center for Safe Schools to conduct regionally-based School Security Officer Institutes.
There will be 18 institutes offered at nine locations throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during 2012. This is a four-day Institute divided into two, two-day sessions. The Institute's first and second sessions will be repeated at the same location in order to permit the participation of a portion of your security team at one institute and the other members to the next institute.

The Institute is designed for school security officers working in Pennsylvania elementary and secondary schools. A "School Security Officer"
(SSO) is a noncommissioned officer employed by a school district or a vendor who is assigned to a

school for routine safety and security duties and who has not been granted powers under section 778 (c)(2),(3) or(4). In-house school security personnel, although sometimes commissioned with limited