Too Good for Drugs
Too Good for Drugs (TGFD) is a school-based prevention program designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use among students.TGFD has a separate, developmentally appropriate curriculum for each grade level from kindergarten through 8th grade. The curriculum is designed to develop five essential life skills: (1) goal setting; (2) decision making; (3) bonding with prosocial others; (4) identifying and managing emotions; and (5) communicating effectively. There is also a program for high school students, Too Good for Drugs and Violence—High-School. TGFD was developed by the Mendez Foundation.
The target audience for TGFD is students in grades K–12.
TGFD has been tested with students of various racial and ethnic groups and found effective with white, Hispanic/Latino, African American, and Asian American students. Student workbooks and parent components are also available in Spanish.
TGFD’s interactive teaching methods encourage students to bond with prosocial peers and engage students through role-play, cooperative learning, games, small-group activities, and class discussions. TGFD also influences students through a parent component used in each grade level: “Home Workouts” in kindergarten through 8th grade, and “Home Pages” in high school. TGFD consists of sequential curricula targeted to each grade level; each year builds on the skills learned in the previous years. The TGFD K–8 program kit includes a teacher’s curriculum with ten 30–60 minute lessons. As part of these lessons, students receive normative education on the rates of and attitudes toward drug use and information on the risks of drug use. Students also participate in diverse role-play situations, cooperative learning, and prosocial skills-development activities. At the high school level, the curriculum consists of 26 lessons; 14 core lessons delivered in the same class, and 12 infusion lessons included in other academic classes. TGFD also provides 10 staff development sessions.
A one- or two-day on-site teacher/staff training on how to use each grade-specific curriculum is strongly recommended. Training and technical support are provided by the developer, the Mendez Foundation.
Christianne Powell
Director of Training Prevention Education Programs
The Mendez Foundation
601 S. Magnolia Avenue
Tampa, FL 33606
Phone: (800) 750-0986, ext. 205
Fax: (813) 251-3237
E-mail: cpowell@mendezfoundation.org
Web site: www.mendezfoundation.org
An on-site one-day training (for a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 50 participants) costs $1,500 plus travel expenses with the purchase of $1,500 or more in materials. Without the purchase of materials, the cost of an on-site one-day training is $2,000 plus travel expenses. Small districts may collaborate with other nearby school districts to share the cost of an on-site training. The TGFD K–8 kit costs between $100 and $130 per classroom, and the Too Good for Drugs and Violence—High-School kit costs $750. These materials can be purchased from the developer’s Web site at https://www.mendezfoundation.org/toogood/
Five studies conducted by an independent evaluator have examined TGFD’s effectiveness in reducing adolescents’ intention to use tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana; reducing fighting; and strengthening protective and resiliency factors. All of the studies examined pretest equivalence between treatment and control groups; potential bias of loss of student data over time; quality of program implementation; and estimates of reliability and validity of assessment tools. Middle
school studies used a repeated measures treatment-control group design. High school studies used a pretest/posttest randomized design.
Each of the five studies showed positive effects on risk and protective factors relating to alcohol, tobacco, illegal drug use, and violence, including significant positive effects on the following:
- Attitudes toward drugs
- Attitudes toward violence
- Perceived peer norms
- Peer disapproval of use
- Emotional competence
- Social and resistance skills
- Goals and decision making
- Perceived harmful effects
In comparison with a control group, TGFD students had fewer intentions to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, and fight. Positive effects on substance use and protective factors continue to be seen in both the short and the long term.
Each curriculum includes pre- and posttests for evaluation purposes. Evaluation tools are included in the TGFD curricula at each grade level and include instruments to assess fidelity of implementation and program effectiveness.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Model Program
- American Medical Association Excellence in Prevention
- Southeastern Drug-Free Schools Shining Star Award
- Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association/DCF Best Practices Conference First Place in Prevention
Bacon, T. (2000). The effects of the Too Good for Drugs prevention program on students’ substance use intentions and risk and protective factors. Florida Educational Research Council, Inc., Research Bulletin, 31(3&4), 1–25 .http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=75
Bacon, T. (2001). Impact on high school students’ behaviors and protective factors: A pilot study of the Too Good for Drugs and Violence prevention program. Florida Educational Research Council, Inc., Research Bulletin, 32(3&4), 1–40.
Bacon, T. (2003). Evaluation of the Too Good for Drugs elementary school prevention program. A project funded by the Florida Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Tallahassee, Florida. http://www.mendezfoundation.org/catalog/view/theme/mendez/files/Evaluation%20Studies/TGFD_Elementary_Study_2007.pdf
Bacon, T. (2003). Technical report: The effects of the Too Good for Violence prevention program on student behaviors and protective factors. Tampa, FL: C. E. Mendez Foundation, Inc.
Bacon, T. (2004). Technical report: Pilot study of the Too Good for Drugs and Violence After-School Activities Program. http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=54
