For Schools

School Participation is Fundamental to the Success of Our Youth, Our Future.

Why should my school participate?

Participating in Our Youth, Our Future benefits your school, its students and Native youth in general.

  • Within 6 weeks after completing the survey, your school will receive a confidential report containing comprehensive results for your school. This data can be used to:
    • Identify appropriate resources and programs tailored to the needs of your students.
    • Raise decision maker, funder, and/or community awareness of the nature and extent of adolescent drug and alcohol use
and other behaviors.
    • Provide a baseline assessment for use in grant proposals and program evaluation.
  • Additionally, your school will receive financial compensation for participating in the survey process, with additional compensation if 80% or more of enrolled students in 6th grade or higher participate. The amount received varies between
$500 and $4000, depending on the size of your school. 

Besides these benefits, your school will play a key role in understanding substance use among youth living on or near Native American reservations and ensuring that appropriate resources are made available to your community for prevention and treatment.

i’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE

Is my school eligible?

Participating schools must meet the following criteria:

  • A grade configuration that includes at least two grades in the 6th-12th grade range. Examples include schools with grade configurations of: K-8, K-12, 6-8, 7-8, or 9-12. 
  • Minimum enrollment of 20 students per grade. This ensures student anonymity for the online survey and school report. 
  • Native American enrollment of 20% or more.
  • Located on or within 25 miles of a federally recognized Native American reservation (contiguous United States only).

We sincerely hope that your school will join us in this important project to provide critical information necessary to help improve the mental and physical health of Native youth.

i’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE

What does participation involve?

Our staff will work with your school to make participation as easy as possible, and we will provide guidance and help every step of the way.

  • We will work with your school to gain appropriate approvals as required by your school board and/or the reservation’s Tribal Council or Tribal IRB. Depending on where your school is located, a Tribal IRB may have already approved our project for administration in schools on your reservation.
  • You will choose a survey date(s) ideal for you to administer the Our Youth, Our Future survey to your students (6th grade and above). The survey is administered online, typically takes 30 minutes or less for students to complete, and is completely anonymous. 
  • We will provide letters (email or regular mail) to notify parents of the survey, with information on how they can contact the school to ask questions or opt their child out of the survey. We will also provide a template to post information about the survey on the school website, school social media account, or parent portal. 
  • Teachers/staff will be given detailed information on how to conduct the survey, including instructions to be read aloud to the students prior to starting the survey.
  • On the survey date(s), teachers and/or staff will administer the online survey to your 6th-12th grade students.

We will provide a step-by-step guide with all materials required to successfully complete the survey process.

i’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE

What types of questions are on the survey?

  • No identifying information is ever asked about students or families, and no questions are asked about sexual activity or similarly sensitive personal information.
  • The Our Youth, Our Future survey includes questions about lifetime, last 12-month, and last 30-day substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, nicotine products, and other illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and prescription drugs; related questions such as age of first use, 2-week binge drinking, perceived harm, and perceived availability; and questions about resilience factors that may keep students from using and risk factors that may contribute to student use.  The survey includes several items related to plans for the future, school engagement, and perceptions of academic achievement.
  • We are able to adjust the questionnaire if you wish to have specific items removed or if you would like to add several questions of specific interest to your school. 
  • You will receive a comprehensive report that summarizes your students’ responses and compares these findings to national data. This report is confidential to your school and its governing bodies. Click here for a sample report. 
  • We will provide your school with a copy of the survey and an example report if you would like to see them before deciding
to participate.
i’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE

For more information or to enroll your school, contact Allison Burford, Field Director at allison.burford@colostate.edu or 970-491-3895