April 04, 2024

DEA El Paso and Discovery Education Train Albuquerque Schools on DEA Award-Winning Curriculum

DEA El Paso Division

APS Health educators and counselors engage in training activities.

APS Health educators and counselors engage in the training activities.

Albuquerque District Office ASAC Garland welcomes APS educators to the training.

Albuquerque District Office ASAC Garland welcomes APS educators to the training.

woman looking at notes posted on a wall

Health educators and counselors participate in a lesson exploration using different images from the curriculum.

flipchart paper attached to wall, with columns labeled "connections" and "questions."

Health educators and counselors participate in a lesson exploration using different images from the curriculum.

Health educators and counselors engage in a “snowball fight” where crumpled up papers with questions that need answers are shared throughout the classroom.

Health educators and counselors engage in a “snowball fight” where crumpled up papers with questions that need answers are shared throughout the classroom.

Kimberly Wright, Instructional Design Manager at Discovery Education, goes over the day’s agenda.

Kimberly Wright, Instructional Design Manager at Discovery Education, goes over the day’s agenda.

Catie Drew, Senior Prevention Program Manager at DEA Headquarters’ Community Outreach Section, elaborates on the curriculum and the years-long partnership between DEA and Discovery Education.

Catie Drew, Senior Prevention Program Manager at DEA Headquarters’ Community Outreach Section, elaborates on the curriculum and the years-long partnership between DEA and Discovery Education.

Albuquerque Public Schools has become a New Mexico leader in substance misuse prevention education by implementing DEA’s Operation Prevention curriculum across their school district. On March 25, the DEA El Paso Division, with the help of DEA Headquarters Community Outreach Section, and Discovery Education, trained 55 Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) health educators and counselors in best practices for using the award-winning curriculum.

Discovery Education, a global leader in educational content, partnered with DEA to create Operation Prevention in 2016. The curriculum is a science-based, evidence-informed educational initiative that meets national health and science standards of learning and is an aligned program for students ages 8-18. Additionally, Operation Prevention focuses on helping young people make healthy and informed choices at a young age to further prevent substance use and misuse.

APS health educators and school counselors who specialize in substance use disorders learned how to implement the curriculum in their classes using the different lessons, videos, and virtual field trips. The training was interactive and filled with activities to better prepare them for curriculum implementation. To keep the educators and counselors actively engaged throughout the training session, Discovery Education modeled classroom activities and strategies, which sparked brainstorming ideas and questions about how to use the curriculum.

“One of the best things about [Operation Prevention], is that it's free,” said Dr. Meurer, Executive Director for Student Family Community Supports Division at Albuquerque Public Schools. “We surveyed our health educators around health topics and what they wanted professional development on. Not surprisingly, substance use and abuse were number one.”

Operation Prevention will help address the health education requirement that is mandated for APS high school and middle school students in New Mexico. The next goal is to implement Operation Prevention in the APS elementary schools.

“Albuquerque Public Schools is truly amplifying DEA’s prevention messaging by using our curriculum,” said Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s El Paso Division. “I challenge all other school districts in New Mexico and West Texas, to follow APS’s example. In fact, all school districts in the entire country should be using it.”