Fall River School physical and health education teacher Jason Springer offered the first of seven sessions of the Project ALERT curriculum to a group of young people at the Pleasant View Apartments on July 12, 2016. The Project ALERT curriculum was created and tested by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. Developed over a ten-year period, Project ALERT addresses the pro-drug mindset of today’s teens and effectively increases their likelihood to remain drug-free. Through a series of comprehensive lessons, Project ALERT motivates students against drug use, cultivates new non-use attitudes and beliefs, and equips teens with the skills and strategies they’ll use to resist drugs. The same program is also being offered each week at the Father Diaferio Family Development. Both programs follow one of the daily Summer Lunch Programs. Click here for a 27-minute video of the presentation and here for photos of programs offered by Mr. Springer last year. For more information, contact Jason Springer at Fall River Schools.

(Top row) Fall River School physical and health education teacher Jason Springer hands out materials to a group of young people at the Pleasant View Apartments before starting his presentation. (Row two) Young people respond to a series of questions about tobacco, alcohol and drugs. (Bottom row) Following the completion of his presentation, the youth get to shoot baskets after repeating some of what they learned in the session.