DO IT RIGHT

FAQs

What does this cost?

Nothing, not a dime.  Thanks to the support of our sponsors, the SSPN program is brought to local high schools across the Ozarks at no cost to the schools or students.  We only ask that if your school is going participate, then you must be prepared to keep your end of the commitment by implementing the program at your school (which is not complicated).   We invest a lot of time and sponsorship money in each pledge kit of materials sent to you, and we are counting on its use.

How does it work?

The Pledge:

The heart of this program is a pledge card.  Each prom-eligible student is given a pledge card to take home, sign, and return to school to be counted toward the school’s percentage.   The pledge signifies each student’s commitment to their parents (and fellow students) to remain drug and alcohol free on prom night. The pledge card must be signed by the parent or guardian before it is valid.  This presents an opportunity for a healthy dialog between student and parent, and is designed to get all the parents on board as well.  For any emancipated students, we recommend that these students be required to have you or another faculty member sign their pledge card.  Any student who violates the pledge is ineligible to be counted in the schools totals – we leave this to you to enforce. The program is not hard to implement, but you would be wise to delegate the task of distributing and receiving pledge cards to student leaders who will be motivated to implement the program at your school.  For example, members of Students against Destructive Decision-making are usually highly motivated to handle the logistics.

Pre-Prom Build Up – the critical weeks before prom:

pledge kit is sent to each school containing everything you need to implement the program.  Kurt will visit each school and speak to all prom-eligible students at an assembly, ideally, about two weeks out from prom.  Kurt introduces students to the program, tells them what they need to do to make it a success at their school, and gives them some serious consequences to consider.   Kurt’s presentation includes a number of stories involving people from this area who have had their lives turned upside down as the result of someone who injured or killed their loved one under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  It is a sobering message, and includes practical implications of criminal conviction that our students may not have yet considered.  If a live presentation by Kurt cannot be arranged, a DVD can be provided to your school. Following the assembly, students are given as many opportunities as possible to return their signed pledge cards (at a table set up in the lunchroom or main hallway).  There should be a corresponding pledge card for each student on the sign-up sheet.  Each student who returns a signed pledge card is listed on a sign-up sheet, receives a Do it Right! wristband to wear throughout prom season, and a removable cling-like sticker for their vehicle, locker, notebook, etc, to display – all to signify to other students their commitment.

The key – a positive peer pressure environment:

The wristbands and stickers are important.  The point of having the students who take the pledge wear wristbands and use removable stickers is to create a positive peer pressure environment which, without saying a thing, encourages more students to participate and take the pledge too.  It would be ideal if your students have as many opportunities as possible to return the pledge card after the assembly and before prom, so that as large a number of students are using these items in the weeks before prom.

What about the parents?

In addition to the fact that all parents must sign the pledge card, we provide you with a letter to parents from Larson LawFirm which introduces the program and lets parents know they can expect to see a pledge card brought home.   The letter also contains Prom Night Tips directed at parents for helping our students keep their commitment.  This letter and tips page must be copied and sent to parents of all prom-eligible students as soon as possible after receiving the pledge-kit.  You may want to include this material in any mailings you are making to parents regarding other school-related matters.  Sadly, we have found that on prom night some parents need to be reminded that a permissive attitude about underage drinking is not only illegal, but defeats all our efforts.  This letter makes that point clear.

Competition Between Schools, and Financial Incentives

Participating schools are divided up into divisions based upon size of prom-eligible student population.  Immediately after prom, an official count based upon sign-up sheets is reported back to us by you, so that we can report a winner in each division.  Keep in mind that prom and graduation dates vary widely between schools, so you must report results to us promptly so that we can declare a winner in each division before any one school graduates their students.  An award of $1,000 is made to one school in each division (based upon school size) that has the greatest percentage of pledge taking students.  The winning school is free to do whatever it wants with the prize money.  An effective use of this money is to promise students that if their school wins their division, $500 will be paid to one male and to one female, based upon a drawing of pledge cards after prom.  Note that you are also welcome to find local donors to sweeten your school’s pot. There is a lot of money at stake.  Since this is an honor system, it is important that a faculty member supervise to insure the integrity of the student sign-up sheet.  A random drawing will be held if there is a tie between two or more schools in any division.  Of course, the overriding goal is to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs and underage alcohol use at each school, and hopefully save lives.  Regardless of who has the most pledge-takers in each division, all schools are winners in this program.

How do we make SSPN a success at our school?

Your pledge kit will contain more specifics on how to best promote the program in your school, a timeline for the faculty representative, and tips for the students.  But as a general statement, it is critical that you get your students leaders on board early if this program is to succeed.  We can give them incentives, but the program works best if the students make it their own mission to encourage each other to work together for a common goal.   Also, we recommend you implement the SSPN program in conjunction with other safety programs that are brought to your school.

What happens after I file an Entry Form?

By returning this information to us, your school will be added to the list of those schools scheduled to receive a Pledge Kit.  Please do not submit a form if you are not committed to implementing the program – as we invest substantial time and money into each pledge kit, and we want to see these kits used.  Please don’t hesitate to call us if you have questions before entering your school in the program. If all goes as planned, we will have the kit to you so that you can implement the program in the two weeks preceding your prom.  Prom dates vary widely across the Ozarks, so that time frame is not consistent.  The kit contains everything you need to implement the program at your school.

What’s in the Pledge Kit?

Listed below are the items included in your pledge kit.  This same list will accompany your materials in the pledge kit:

© 2004 – present, LLF.  Safe and Sober Prom Night, the SSPN Logo, and all printed materials associated with SSPN are the exclusive property of Larson Law Firm, and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.  Any unauthorized use, including but not limited to, the publication, reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, republication, display, creation of derivative works, or any other use for commercial or other reasons, is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of Larson Law Firm.