Cynthia Knowles is the recipient of the National Association of Student Assistance Professionals Student Assistance Journal Editorial Award
"Easy to read and understand, with a wealth of resource ideas. Very helpful for even a novice to understand and lead school and community groups through developing a practical prevention plan."
Jane Todey
Bureau of Children, Family, & Community Services
Iowa Department of Education
"A good beginning tool for those in need to get the job done immediately."
Bertha Caldwell
Bureau of Children, Family, and Community Services
Iowa Department of Education
Hard data on effective prevention programs . . . and how to make them work for your school!
There are a wide range of programs that claim to prevent or reduce drug use and violence on campus . . . but how good are they? And how effective is the program that′s in place at your school?
Now even educators without evaluation experience or a statistical background can produce accurate and ′fearless′ assessments with the help of this invaluable guidebook, including:
- Writing goals and objectives
- Reviewing and selecting programs
- Creating homegrown programs
- Creating self-report questionnaires and focus groups
- Calculating time and cost effectiveness
- Crunching numbers and organizing data
- Presenting the results
What′s more, Prevention That Works! contains over thirty separate resources that you can easily adapt and use in your own evaluations, including:
- Sample youth participant feedback sheets
- Sample adult participant feedback sheets
- Sample classroom observation sheets
- Sample teacher implementation logs
- Sample en-route participant feedback sheets
- Sample teacher surveys of curriculum content for violence and substance abuse
- Data summary Logs
- Sample student risk surveys
- Sample parent consent forms
. . . as well as guidelines, glossaries, and advice on online funding. It′s a comprehensive work and an essential part of your school safety program!
Cynthia R. Knowles works nationally helping schools, agencies, and businesses maximize the effectiveness of their prevention programs through student and employee training, curriculum review, data analysis, awareness education, and program evaluation. She works as the Health and Wellness Coordinator at Livonia Central School, Livonia, New York; as a lecturer at the State University of New York at Geneseo; as a supervisor of student teachers in health education at the State University of New York at Cortland; and as a professional ski instructor. Previously she has been the Director of Rehabilitation for a 135-bed homeless shelter, a psychotherapist for adolescents and their families, and a regional coordinator for the Safe and Drug Free Schools grant program. Through articles and training seminars, she advocates for truth, accuracy, and youth involvement in the field of violence and substance abuse. She teaches participants to question their sources and to validate all information before passing it on. Her politics are simple: She believes that all of us―parents, teachers, and neighbors―have the ability to change the world significantly through our interactions with youth. She believes in prayer and miracles but is still slightly superstitious and overinsured. Cynthia welcomes your feedback, especially your experiences, challenges, insights, and successes with using this book for program evaluation.
