With the opening of its borders following the collapse of communism, the Czech Republic has joined other Central/Eastern European countries as both a transit route and a destination for the region’s drug trade. While the country is not a significant producer or cultivator of illicit drugs, it has increasingly become a link in the transport of drugs to West European markets. About one-fifth of these drugs are consumed domestically, and the number of local users has been steadily rising. In a disturbing trend, teenagers aged 15 to 19 have become the largest group of drug users in the Czech Republic.

In an effort to counteract this trend among youth, Partners-Czech designed and implemented a program to disseminate skills and information about drug prevention in Czech schools. Partners-Czech sought both to empower educators to initiate prevention programs in their schools, and also to facilitate cooperation among prevention coordinators, teachers, headmasters, and representatives from the regional School Administration Offices (SU) and the Educational & Psychological Advisors (EPA). Further, the Center sought to disseminate teaching materials for the prevention of drug abuse, such as the “Educators Against Drugs” manual, which provides an effective framework and comprehensive content for elementary and secondary school level teachers.

During the preparatory phase, Partners-Czech worked with the Czech Ministry of Education to design a plan for workshops, trainings and the recruitment of coordinators. Next, Center staff conducted a presentation to approximately 75 Czech school district coordinators in order to recruit drug abuse prevention coordinators; nearly all attendees applied for the ensuing workshops. Through a series of three workshops, Partners-Czech presented further details of the project and built consensus on criteria for the selection of participants. Lastly, Partners-Czech conducted 15 trainings for teachers and educators that taught the “Educators Against Drugs” manual, discussed the causes of drug addiction, explained prevention work methodology and philosophy, demonstrated teamwork, and described the primary prevention program model.

Partners-Czech’s comprehensive program on such a difficult topic left a deep impression on participants. Some of the program’s successes include:

• Participants noted that, often for the first time, they discussed the problem of drug prevention education with others, and emphasized the usefulness of interactive methods of teaching. They incorporated these methods into their lesson plans, and found that students positively received them. Further, participants expressed a newfound belief in drug prevention work.

• The participants represented a range of backgrounds, including first-year teachers to those with 20 years’ experience, headmasters, educational consultants, and EPA directors. This diversity allowed participants to benefit from unique perspectives on the role of a school prevention coordinator, which was encouraged by the interactive and cooperative nature of the program.

• Educators were exposed to new interactive methods of training, which differed greatly from the lecture format with which they were accustomed. Although some participants expressed initial hesitancy, they quickly embraced the “Educators Against Drugs” curriculum and Partners-Czech’s new techniques, focusing on children’s social competence improvement, decision-making skills, self-confidence, resistance to stress, and rejection of self-destructive behavior.

• The support of the program by the Ministry of Education and U.S. Embassy provided a much needed morale boost to educators, who frequently noted that drug prevention work is often overlooked and under-appreciated by schools and authorities. Participants were significantly motivated by the participation and support “from above.”

In addition, one of the most important contributions of the program was the increased communication among teachers and school and district coordinators. Though these groups are all working to prevent drug abuse in schools, for many participants the program represented the first time they had met one another. Thus, participants realized that they were not alone in trying to combat the problem of drug abuse, and developed long-term relationships with their colleagues.