Lions Quest

Skills for Adolescence

Skills for Adolescence (SFA) is based on highly targeted research of students in grades 6-8. Included are "Making Healthy Choices" units covering drug, alcohol and tobacco use; interactive, student-focused lessons; sessions on anger, conflict and stress management; and cross-curricular activities to encourage team-teaching. This extensive curriculum has been expanded to help students manage conflict and anger and to help teachers and administrators deal with the critical issue of bullying. Supplemental bullying prevention lessons, developed in 2009, can be found in the Program Updates section of this Web site.

Our 40-session "Introduction to Skills" implementation model was proven effective by a rigorous evaluation study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). However, we recommend the school-wide model as the optimum implementation model because the entire school community creates and sustains a shared vision for positive youth development. Similarly, we recommend the three-year models as our ideal models because they provide "booster lessons" and continuous practice that reinforce the skill-building potential throughout the middle school experience. When the three-year model is not possible, we have seen much success with the two-and one-year models as well.

All options, from one to three years, include one lesson per week taught as a 45-minute class or split into two 20-30 minutes classes. Three lessons per month are scheduled for a total of 30 lessons per school year. Unit coverage varies according to time frame. Visit Program Resources to view a variety of curriculum maps and state learning standards correlation guides.

Student data from year two (2007-08) of the 3-year Learn and Serve America school-based project coordinated by the Tennessee Department of Education and Volunteer Tennessee has measured the success of high quality service-learning integrated within the academic curriculum. Intermediate outcomes show 41% of students with an increase in problem-solving and 51% with an increase in resiliency. Pilot research of a sample student set reported a 9% increase in GPA, 82% decline of in-school suspensions, and 57% decline in student absences. Educators were trained in Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence and/or Skills for Action programs.