I love when the rewards of prevention education show up! The student-led street team at Red Oak High School, along with ROHS counselor and IMPACT Communities liaison Andrea Jones, is stepping up big time.
The Red Oak Hawks recently completed a "soft launch" of their Charged Up social norms campaign designed to alert students that "the majority of ROHS students ARE making healthy decisions when it comes to alcohol and other drugs."
Our IMPACT Communities team reports, “The noise around drugs can be so LOUD that it can feel like just about everyone is drinking, vaping, or consuming marijuana."
The campaign incorporates the high school's mascot—a hawk—and features t-shirts and posters designed by the students. More messaging, including building on the hashtag #soaringhigherthandrugs is planned for the spring.
These students are teaching their peers, faculty and adults that students who use substances are actually in the minority, although Red Oak has the lowest age of substance use onset in Texas (age 10). The Charged Up campaign includes posters with these percentages of past 30-day use:
- 87 percent of students have NOT used alcohol
- 92 percent of students have NOT used e-cigarettes
- 93 percent of students have NOT used marijuana
- 94 percent of students have NOT use prescription drugs that don't belong to them
The numbers tell the story of a street team working hard to make a difference. Well done, Red Oak Hawks! #soaringhigherthandrugs
