New Web site

The Prevention program at the Wood County Educational Service Center is excited to announce the arrival of its expanded Web site, located at http://wood.k12.oh.us/ATOD/ATOD.html#

In the past, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug (ATOD) prevention program has had a very brief description listed on the Educational Service Center's Web site. However, the prevention team members did not think the program was properly represented, so we set about trying to create a Web site that explained who we are and what we do.

Some features of this new Web site include:

• A list of all team members with contact information
• Descriptions of all of the programs we offer
• Videos we have created
• Meeting minutes, newsletters and a resource guide
• A listing of local and national resources to help you and your family find the information and help you need

We are excited to have this new Web site up and running, and we welcome any and all comments and suggestions. We would love to hear from you!

Be on the lookout for more excited news regarding the prevention program and Web sites in the very near future!

Otsego holds first Dialogue Night for Jr. High students in county

So often, parents and teens don’t know how to talk to each other. Simple discussions quickly turn into arguments and confrontations.

Dialogue Night is an activity funded by the Reducing Alcohol Abuse in Secondary Schools (RAASS) grant from the Wood County Educational Service Center. Traditionally offered to high school students and their parents, the program was offered to middle school students in the Otsego school district on March 9. More than 80 people attended the event.

The goal of the evening was to teach parents and youth how to talk and listen to each other about a variety of subjects in a calm, respectful manner.

During Dialogue Nights, parents and their children are separated into different groups so they each have the opportunity to speak freely about the subjects. Each group has both a youth and adult facilitator to ensure all parties feel listened to and their opinions are valued, not challenged.

Topics are chosen by the youth, as well as by adults from the community. Some of the topics discussed at the Otsego Middle School Dialogue Night included whether junior high students should have cell phones; whether junior high students should date; and the pros and cons of Facebook and MySpace.

It is the goal of Dialogue Night that a conversational comfort level will be reached and parents and teens will consequently be more inclined to talk together in the future.

“There are no winners or losers,” said Debbie Marinik, the community organizer for the Reducing Alcohol Abuse in Secondary Schools (RAASS) grant through the Wood County Educational Service Center. It’s not about one person’s opinion being better than another persons’. It’s about being heard and leaving Dialogue Night feeling that their opinions have been valued.”

“One of the things we know is that parent opinion is very important to teens when they are making decisions that can effect their whole lives,” she continued. “Yet so frequently, teens and their parents have a very difficult time trying to broach important topics without pushing each others buttons and starting a major disagreement.”

Time for straight talk about alcohol and teen

On Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m., the community of Bowling Green will have a Town Hall Meeting about teenage alcohol usage and driving. It will take place in the new Bowling Green Schools Performing Arts Center, located at 540 W. Poe Rd. on the high school/middle school campus. 

There will be a panel of local experts ready to answer your questions about drunk driving, underage drinking, and how it is affecting our community. Local agencies will also be on hand passing out valuable information for parents who are looking for extra help for their students. 

Both parents and students are encouraged to attend. There will be a raffle for prizes such as a Nintendo Wii, as well as an academic incentive for students who attend. 

Please contact Missy Stott, the Bowling Green school's prevention specialist from the Wood County Educational Service Center, at (419)308-9096 for additional information.

Youth Leaders Commit to Being Positive Role Models

Approximately 40 youth leaders from schools throughout Wood County gathered at the Elmwood Community Center in Jerry City Ohio Saturday for the annual Teen Institute Winter Retreat. Students representing the Bowling Green, Eastwood, Lake, Elmwood, North Baltimore, Northwood, Otsego, Perrysburg, and Rossford school districts, as well as Penta Career Center, attended the event.

Teen Institute is a youth leadership initiative that empowers area youth to develop skills and strategies to send a strong “no use message” and impact drug use reduction in their schools and their communities.

Throughout the course of the Saturday event, youth attended education classes, leadership training events and fun filled drug free activities.  Margie Harris from the Arc of Wood County presented information on the only preventable cause of mental retardation, FASD  Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.   The youth also shared creative ideas for the Junior Teen Institute (JTI) retreat, which will occur March 19 in Rossford.  During that retreat, Teen Institute members will lead some of the programs and be role models for a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle in their schools. Funding for the retreat was made possible from the AHAMHS Board, Wood County Educational Service Center, and ODADAS. Prevention Specialists from the Wood County Educational Service Center Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug (ATOD) Prevention Program organized and chaperoned the event.  

Media campaign meeting

Everyone -- including adults and students of any age -- is invited to attend the media campaign meeting.

The meeting will be held Feb. 22 at 3:30 p.m. at the Wood County Educational Service Center.

During the meeting, we will review new art concepts from graphic designer John Haskins.

Your input is important! See you there!

Parent Project on WBGU radio

The Wood County Educational Service Center's Parent Project program was featured in a radio news segment that was broadcast Jan. 27, 2010 on the Morning Show hosted by Dave Horger on WBGU 88.1 FM.

The Parent Project® is a parent training program designed for parents of adolescents who act out. Topics include reducing family conflict and arguing, improving school performance and attendance, identifying and intervening with alcohol and other drug abuse, interceding with negative peer associations (including inappropriate dating relationships up to and including frank gang involvement) and helping parents to set effective applicable limits.

Listen to the segment on BG Gizmo by clicking here.

We want your opinions!!!!!

The Wood County Educational Service Center Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) Prevention Program needs your help.

We need Wood County parents to complete a survey about parents' views of at-risk behaviors.

We have developed an online survey for parents asking their opinions and beliefs about at-risk behavior in teens.

This very short survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete. We do not collect any personal information.

Please take the survey and ask other parents you know to take it. Tweet it, put it on your Facebook wall, e-mail the link to friends. Spread the word somehow!

Take the survey by clicking here.

Thanks for your input!