COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 133
August 29, 2003
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Virginia Community
Youth Survey |
In the fall
of 2003 the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation & Substance
Abuse Services (DMHMR&SAS) will be administering the Virginia Youth Survey
and the Youth Tobacco Survey in collaboration with the Virginia Tobacco Settlement
Foundation. The Foundation last surveyed randomly selected school divisions in
October 2001.
Working under
a joint agreement between the Foundation and DMHMR&SAS will prevent a
duplication of random survey sampling for school divisions. The survey sample,
to be drawn by the Centers for Disease Control, will include a total of 14,351
students in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. We anticipate that about 574
classrooms will be surveyed. This represents approximately one percent of all
eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders.
The survey
requires one 45-minute class period to administer. A classroom teacher may
administer the survey or a survey administrator will be provided. The survey
process will be coordinated by the Survey Evaluation and Research Lab (SERL) of
Virginia Commonwealth University.
Your
cooperation in allowing the survey to be administered (at no cost) in your
school division will be appreciated because the data obtained will serve a
number of reporting requirements. It will:
1.
satisfy the
reporting requirements for the Department of Education under the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001, specifically the incidence and prevalence, age of
onset, perception of health risk, and perception of social disapproval of drug
use and violence by youth in schools and communities;
2.
meet the
requirement for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Performance
Partnership grant for a plan for services based on youth survey data. The
amount of SAPT funds for prevention that will be available for FY 04 is $8.5
million;
3.
support the
planning efforts of other state agencies including the Governors office for
Substance Abuse Prevention;
4.
support
community prevention coalitions in determining targeted risk factors and
selecting appropriate science-based prevention programs;
5.
assist in
determining the need for technical assistance and direction for future efforts;
and,
6.
evaluate the
effectiveness of the commonwealths substance abuse and other prevention
programs.
To request a sample of the survey, or to obtain additional information, please contact Hope Merrick, prevention services manager, Office of Substance Abuse Services, Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, P.O. Box 1797, Richmond, VA 23218-1797. She may be reached by phone at 804-786-1411 or by e-mail: hmerrick@dmhmrsas.state.va.us
JLD/cp