Find the right resources to spread awareness and empower all students for Red Ribbon Week!
Observed annually every October 23-31 to honor the memory of Drug Enforcement Agent Enrique (Kiki) Camarena, Red Ribbon Week is a time to reinforce alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention, recognizing the harmful effects of substance abuse and promoting the importance of making healthy and safe decisions.
To go with the 2022 Red Ribbon Week theme of “Celebrate Life. Live Drug Free.” we’re sharing proactive strategies and standards-aligned resources to help educators facilitate meaningful class discussions while supporting the health and well-being of all students.
Elementary Activities to Encourage Medication Safety
Get a “Dose of Knowledge” with CVS Health! An extension of the Pharmacists Teach program, Dose of Knowledge strives to empower educators and pharmacists to address substance misuse and educate students to make good decisions for the health and well-being of themselves and their community.
Now you can find new elementary classroom resources that focus on medication safety and give educators everything they need to teach younger students about substance misuse, medication safety, and mental health.
Ready-to-Use Activities for Middle School
Designed with the whole child in mind, cannabis classroom activities from Ask, Listen, Learn focus on how kids interact with society and how society influences their behavior. Through these informative and engaging drug prevention activities for middle school, students will:
- Address the dangers and effects of underage cannabis use on the developing brain, both short- and long-term, while collaborating on refusal and exit strategies for peer pressure.
- Separate facts from fiction through class activities, scientific research, and meaningful peer discussion.
- Explore the evolution of federal and state regulations, engage in meaningful debate as they develop their personal ideas and beliefs, then assume the role of an elected official and create their own mock legislation.
Through our partnership with Ask, Listen, Learn, we help students uncover the science behind how alcohol and cannabis affect developing brains, bodies, and behavior. With these prevention resources, both educators and families can equip students with vital prevention skills and dive deep into the science, data, and facts, helping kids decide to say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to all risky behaviors.
Operation Prevention Virtual Field Trip
Show older students real-life stories of addiction and recovery through the Opioids: Real People. Real Stories. Real Science Virtual Field Trip from Operation Prevention. Have students watch the compelling accounts of two retired professional athletes and a musician as they talk about “playing through the pain” and the far-reaching impact of this growing crisis.
In partnership with the DEA, Operation Prevention provides tools to support every member of the community with the power of prevention. Kickstart life-saving conversations this Red Ribbon Week with standards-aligned English & Spanish language resources, self-paced modules, culture-based content, and much more.
Practical Professional Learning from the SEL Coalition
Foster responsible decision-making in and out of the classroom with professional learning from the Social-Emotional Learning Coalition, a network of industry partners who joined forces with DE to bolster social and emotional growth for all.
Created by a diverse group of subject matter experts, the on-demand SEL & Responsible Decision-Making series focuses on building positive relationships with students and families, incorporating positive SEL practices throughout the school day, and nurturing foundational skills and values for healthy decision-making in school and beyond.
“Providing educators with high-quality resources connected to the real world helps empower students with the knowledge needed to make healthy choices,” said Beth Meyer, Vice President of Social Impact at Discovery Education.
“Our partners commit to providing support on critical topics through engaging, age-appropriate and relevant content. Red Ribbon Week provides the opportunity to connect communities around the importance of health and safety, and we’re proud to offer diverse resources that give educators what they need to navigate difficult conversations in thoughtful, creative ways.”
