Testing ALERT With GTO in Middle Schools

Improving the Implementation of Evidence-based Drug Prevention Programs in Schools

To test the efficacy of Project ALERT with the support enhancement tool, Getting To Outcomes.

This study combines two programs that have been developed by RAND researchers: Project ALERT (PA) and Getting to Outcomes (GTO). Project ALERT is a widely used drug prevention program for middle school youth. Though it has an evidence-base for effectiveness, the program (like most evidence-based programs in schools) is not run with adequate fidelity representing a large gap between what is developed and tested for effectiveness and what is used in actual practice. Thus, the study will conduct an updated randomized controlled trial of PA and test GTO as a tool to increase adoption and adequate fidelity of the program in schools. GTO's previous evidence suggests it could be effective in public schools, yet this remains an empirical question. A successful demonstration of PA and GTO could fundamentally transform evidence-based prevention's delivery, reach, and thus impact, in the US.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eligibility for student participants: all students in 7th grade, primarily aged 12-14, attending school at one of the enrolled schools in the study.
• Eligibility for school staff participants: all educators interested in enrolling in the study at each of the enrolled schools.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not meeting eligibility criteria

Note: the age range is from 11 to 70 to account for both the student AND teacher populations.