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BACKGROUND: We developed the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit (Toolkit) to enhance the impact of school‐based tobacco education. This study describes the process of developing the Toolkit, its contents, and reach. METHODS: Qualitative community‐based participatory research (CBPR), including focus group discussions (N = 152) and working groups with parents, educators, researchers, and youth (N = 87) were used to develop the Toolkit and design its implementation. Toolkit reach was assessed through number of trained educators using the Toolkit, estimated number of youth recipients of the Toolkit resources, and using Google Analytics for online engagement. RESULTS: The Toolkit is a free, online resource aimed at preventing tobacco use by middle and high school students. Toolkit content addresses varied forms of tobacco including electronic cigarettes, hookah, smokeless tobacco, and cigarettes; addiction; and positive youth development; and is available in multiple interactive formats such as real‐time quizzes, factsheets, activities, and presentations. The Toolkit is mainly delivered by trained educators, who adapt its content and duration to tailor their drug prevention teaching to student needs. As of April 2020, when data for this paper were collected, 4,750 educators have reached an estimated 1.3 million youth. The Toolkit website has 186,116 users and 802,602 page views, growing steadily since 2016. As of August 2021, additional students have been reached, for now a total of 1.85 million students reached. CONCLUSION: The Toolkit resources are evidence‐based, comprehensive, responsive, interactive, easily accessible, and flexible. Applying CBPR was instrumental in developing the Toolkit and expanding its reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Researchers have emphasized the importance of integrating mental health education with academic curriculum. The focus of the current studies was Mental Health Matters ( MHM), a mental health curriculum that is integrated with English language arts. It is taught by trained community member volunteers and aims to increase knowledge and decrease stigma toward individuals with mental health disorders. METHODS In Study 1, 142 sixth graders participated in MHM and completed pre- and postprogram measures of mental health knowledge, stigma, and program acceptability. Teachers also completed ratings of acceptability. Study 2 (N = 120 seventh graders) compared participants who had participated in MHM the previous year with those who had not using the same measures. RESULTS Sixth grade students and teachers rated the program as highly acceptable. Participants significantly increased their knowledge and decreased their levels of stigma. Seventh graders who had participated in MHM had significantly more mental health knowledge than peers who had not, but there were no differences in stigma. CONCLUSIONS The model appears to be acceptable to students and teachers. Future research is needed to assess the long-term effectiveness of integrating mental health education with other academic curriculum such as language arts or science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Growing health disparities have a negative impact on young people's educational achievement. Community schools that involve deep relationships with partners across multiple domains address these disparities by providing opportunities and services that promote healthy development of young people, and enable them to graduate from high school ready for college, technical school, on-the-job training, career, and citizenship. METHODS Results from Milwaukie High School, North Clackamas, OR; Oakland Unified School District, Oakland, CA; and Cincinnati Community Learning Centers, Cincinnati, OH were based on a review of local site documents, web-based information, interviews, and e-mail communication with key local actors. RESULTS The schools and districts with strong health partnerships reflecting community schools strategy have shown improvements in attendance, academic performance, and increased access to mental, dental, vision, and health supports for their students. CONCLUSIONS To build deep health-education partnerships and grow community schools, a working leadership and management infrastructure must be in place that uses quality data, focuses on results, and facilitates professional development across sectors. The leadership infrastructure of community school initiatives offers a prototype on which others can build. Moreover, as leaders build cross-sector relationships, a clear definition of what scaling up means is essential for subsequent long-term systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]