School & Community Program

Empowering You to Educate and Protect Youth

This space provides educators, school administrators, and community leaders with the tools and resources you need to help raise awareness among youth about the dangers of fake pills and fentanyl. Below, you'll find a curated toolkit of materials tailored for middle / high school students and youth community groups. If you need additional support or resources, don't hesitate to contact us at realtalk@songforcharlie.org. We're here to help you keep the youth in your care informed and safe from fentanyl and fake pills.

The New Drug Talk
CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION MATERIALS

FREE middle and high school learning material is available through either link below. The Classroom Lesson Materials come from several different sources. The Fake & Fatal material was developed by teachers in the Beaverton School District (Oregon) using best known practices. The lessons were developed to be turn-key and can be used as is in conjunction with the current drug curriculum your district uses, or they can be modified to fit your needs.

Student Assemblies

Student assemblies can be an impactful way to ensure all of your students are informed of the dangers of the fake prescription pills they can easily get online, and to get them talking about this danger with their peers. If possible, we recommend finding someone who has been impacted by fake pills firsthand to talk to your students… affected parents or siblings, DEA agents, law enforcement, counselors, etc. If you are looking for someone local to your area contact realtalk@songforcharlie.org, and we may be able to help. If you don’t have a local person’s testimony, you can still have a powerful student assembly by using one of the below impact stories and the centerpiece of your assembly.​

Suggested agenda for student assembly:

The topics of drug use and drug deaths can be triggering to some people. We encourage schools to have counselors on hand in case any students are in need of counselors after the presentation.Following is an example of a high school presentation:

https://www.songforcharlie.org/sample-presentation-for-students

Toolkit

Student Assemblies

Student assemblies can be an impactful way to ensure all of your students are informed of the dangers of the fake prescription pills they can easily get online, and to get them talking about this danger with their peers. If possible, we recommend finding someone who has been impacted by fake pills firsthand to talk to your students… affected parents or siblings, DEA agents, law enforcement, counselors, etc. If you are looking for someone local to your area contact realtalk@songforcharlie.org, and we may be able to help. If you don’t have a local person’s testimony, you can still have a powerful student assembly by using one of the below impact stories and the centerpiece of your assembly.​Suggested agenda for student assembly:

The topics of drug use and drug deaths can be triggering to some people. We encourage schools to have counselors on hand in case any students are in need of counselors after the presentation.Following is an example of a high school presentation:https://www.songforcharlie.org/sample-presentation-for-students

Community Conversations/Town Halls

We recommend that schools and other organizations also host community conversations or town hall meetings to educate students, parents, and other community members about the changes in the drug landscape and the risks today’s youth are facing. As with the student assemblies, we recommend trying to have a speaker who has first-hand experience with fake prescription pills if possible. Town halls can be conducted in person, but we also have seen many communities have wide-reaching success with zoom events. Choose whichever approach you think will work best for your community.Suggested agenda for student assembly:

Organizations may also want to provide parents training on the social media apps their kids are using and how to monitor their kids. Depending on timing, this may be best if presented in a separate forum.Sample of Community Conversations:

Educate Classroom Teachers, Coaches & Administrators

Teachers, coaches and administrators have a big influence on students and students are more likely to internalize a message when they hear it repeatedly, so we encourage schools to integrate mental health, safe medicine use, fake pill, and substance use into their lesson plans and discussions whenever there is an opportunity. Normalizing discussions also help to remove stigmas around these topics and make it easier for kids to discuss them if they are having issues.Following are some ideas of how these topics can be integrated into normal classroom discussions:

  • Math/Science: create problems using statistics regarding teen mental health and substance use, brain research, ‘happiness chemicals’, science of addiction…

  • Humanities: Initiate discussions regarding state & local news, historical drug and prohibition policies, narratives and literature about coping and mental health…

  • Health/Coaches: Regularly discuss mental health as a component of overall health, trust/relationship with medical professionals and medicine, dangers of fake pills, where to ask for help…

​The possibilities are endless… ask your teachers what they can do to incorporate these messages into their regular lessons.Following are some good resources for teachers/coaches:

College Resources:

Social Media Campaign

We encourage schools/districts to post warnings across their social media accounts, including those managed by students.Social media content is available for free at: https://www.songforcharlie.org/social-media-contentContent can be freely pulled from Song for Charlie’s social media accounts and used on your own social media sites:

Beaverton School District’s free Fake & Fatal social media campaign material can also be obtained by sending a request to community_involvement@beaverton.k12.or.us.

Posters/Flyers/Stickers

We encourage schools to display posters/flyers around the school and/or send them home in parent newsletters. Song for Charlie offers free posters/flyers/stickers, digital and for print, for anyone to use.Posters made by students are also – students talking to students in their own language is one of the most effective ways to get through to school aged-kids.

Student-led Activities

Students talking to students about the dangers of fentanyl might be the most impactful method of getting this message across. Students in districts across the nation have taken action to raise awareness in their communities in the following ways:

  • Redwood Bark, the Redwood High School (Larkspur, CA) student newspaper, featured a story “One pill can kill: Addiction, loss, and fentnayl” by Taylor Elliott and Keely Ganong. The article shared the stories of Trevor Leopold and Alex Movahedi, two former Redwood students who died of fentanyl poisoning.

  • The student government class at Vista Del Lago High School in Folsom, CA listened to the testimony of parents who lost their son Zachary to fentanyl and planned an awareness campaign that included lawn signs, t-thirts, and more. Their campaign was featured on their local evening news.

  • Students at Whitney High School (Rocklin, CA) interviewed parents of young fentanyl victims for broadcasting class.

  • Students in many schools have created posters & yard signs to raise awareness. Post in bathroom stalls, hallways, school parking lots… wherever there are teens who need to know!

  • We’re Fighting Fake Pills, an article in Scholastic Choices Magazine, features three youth who are spreading awareness in their communities.

  • A group of students wrote a play for their drama club to perform.

The possibilities are endless. Talk to your student leadership or other student groups to ask what they would do to raise awareness!

School Fentanyl News

State Resources

Merch

Kids like merch, and they can be a good reminder of the important messages kids learn. If you would like some Song for Charlie wristbands to hand out to students at your school, contact merch@songforcharlie.org at least 4 weeks before the event, and we will do our best to provide you some wristbands.

Take the Pledge

Never take a random pill

I will only take pills prescribed to me by my own doctor.

Spread the word

I will tell my friends who may be experimenting, recreationally using, or struggling with substances about the dangers of fake pills.

Find alternatives

I will explore healthier ways to cope with my pain, stress or anxiety.

Be available

I will be honest with myself and supportive of others when speaking of mental health and substance use.