Assisted Learning Environment Response Team (ALERT Program)

Lethbridge School District No. 51
Contact: Angela Payne

  1. What problem were you trying to address when you launched this program?
    The school board is concerned with the physical, emotional and social well being of children and youth. Schools have identified drug and alcohol use, violence, inter-personal conflict and social isolation as issues that make it difficult for students to be successful in school. The ALERT program addresses these issues through preventative programming in schools, reactive services for students in need, referral to appropriate community agencies and daily contact and interaction with students, staff and parents in schools.

  2. Describe the program/project?
    ALERT is an acronym for Assisted Learning Environment Response Team. ALERT is a partnership between the Lethbridge Police Service, The Chinook Health Region, Holy Spirit Regional School Division No. 4, Lethbridge School District No. 51, Immanuel Christian Schools and Southwest Alberta Child and Family Services. This partnership provides service to students through school counselors, school resource officers, native liaison workers and public health nurses. Coordinated services are offered to students in the following ways:

    1. Preventative programming
      DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is taught to Grade 6 students in both the Holy Spirit and Lethbridge Public school divisions. This drug and alcohol prevention curriculum is taught by a police officer assigned to work in schools. A conflict resolution curriculum is taught to all Grade 7 students in the City of Lethbridge. Police officers, school counselors, public health nurses and native liaison workers all teach lessons within this curriculum.

    2. Reactive services
      Police officers and public health nurses are providing proactive police and health services to all students attending public schools in Lethbridge. When students and families have health concerns they can access health information through the school from the public health nurse. When students are in trouble with the law, are threatening themselves or others or need some direction in making positive choices they can speak with the school resource officer or school counselor. While individual confidential services are offered to students, the ALERT partners also offer team responses to students and families. Threat Assessment procedures are an example of how the ALERT team works within the school to provide assistance to students who threaten to harm themselves or others.

    3. Investigation and enforcement
      School resource officers assist school administration with investigation of criminal activity and provide enforcement of infractions and violations. They also provide appropriate intervention in harassment and bullying situations and assist with tobacco policy enforcement on school property

  1. How did you involve your school council/community in developing this approach?
    The community has been very supportive of the ALERT initiative. The partnering agencies currently provide six police officers and three public health nurses to work in city schools. The school districts provide counselors and native liaison workers within the schools. Parents, the school board and individual school councils are all concerned about violence in and around schools. They have been eager to lobby for and publicly support this partnership. The creation of the ALERT program came from a perceived need that the community needed to have a coordinated response to children and youth in need. The cooperation and generosity of school divisions and community agencies has made the ALERT partnership possible.

  2. How do you know it is working?
    The ALERT partnership recently went through a review of services. The information from the review was very positive. Parents, school staff, students, nurses and police officers were all surveyed. Over 95 per cent of parents stated that the ALERT program contributes to the safety and well being of the community. Over 80 per cent of students can identify their school resources officer by name and people working in schools stated that the ALERT program is making schools a more safe and caring environment for children and youth.

  3. What would you do to improve this program?
    The ALERT partnership is an example of community collaboration that promotes responsible citizenship by enabling students and families to access the services they need to be productive members of the community. The partnership also sends out positive messages to all youth about how to live healthy, productive lives. As in all partnerships, communication is central to making the partnership work. Efforts to enable front line staff to communicate more effectively with each other will help improve service to students. There is currently some discussion about the preventative programming being offered in schools. While it is important to offer universal messages about drug and alcohol use, is it targeting students that will struggle with these issues? Is there room to expand the programming? Meetings are currently being held to address communication and programming issues.