Call it a sort of "harmonic convergence." Call it magic. Or call it what it is--a solid alcohol use prevention curriculum implemented by a creative health education coordinator, dedicated teachers, committed community volunteers, and lively students. Whatever you call it, when an otherwise disengaged student remarks, "This is the best thing I've had in high school. If I wasn’t doing this, I would have been sleeping in the back of the class," then you know something special has occurred.

That is what happened when all seven of the Minneapolis public high schools decided to use the Class Action alcohol use prevention program in their health classes. Class Action is the high school extension of Project Northland, the alcohol use prevention program for young people in grades 6-8.

While Class Action has been in schools across the country for six years, Minneapolis is the first district to recruit lawyers and law students to help implement it. Involvement with the legal community makes students more aware of the risks of alcohol abuse while enlightening them about the legal process and careers in law. "I really liked it because we learned about law and drinking. I think I want to be a lawyer," said one enthusiastic student.

Making responsible choices
Class Action is a role play-based program in which students enact six civil cases that explore the consequences of underage drinking. The cases involve drinking and driving, fetal alcohol syndrome, drinking and violence, date rape, drinking and vandalism, and school alcohol policies. Students form legal teams and are guided to prepare the case for the "jury." The remainder of the class not involved in the role play makes up the jury. Audiotapes provide the facts of each case. Important information about alcohol and the effects of alcohol abuse is woven into the materials, so by the end of the experience, students are better prepared to make responsible choices about drinking. In an innovative way, they learn the art of critical thinking and discover how their actions could have long-term, often dire effects on so many others as well as themselves. The program culminates with a mock trial in which evidence is presented, witnesses are heard, and a verdict is obtained.

The University of Minnesota researchers who developed Class Action consulted with many legal experts to ensure that the cases were true-to-life and adaptable in any state. The curriculum also has enough flexibility to allow for such things as guest speakers, interviews with real-life experts, or--in the case of Minneapolis--voluntary participation from the legal community. Grants from the Conley Family Foundation and the federal Safe Schools/Healthy Schools Initiative made the Minneapolis endeavor possible, and a unique collaboration between the Minnesota Bar Association’s Diversity Committee, the Minneapolis School’s Health Education Department, and Hazelden Publishing made it work.

Minneapolis Public Schools is the largest and one of the most diverse school districts in Minnesota. Its 38,000 students speak 90 languages and dialects, 73 percent are students of color, and 68 percent are below the poverty level, making the Minneapolis experience all the more challenging.

Jan Braaten, the Minneapolis Public Schools' health education coordinator, spearheaded the Class Action effort in her district. The first thing she did was form a curriculum committee with five health teachers "so all voices could be heard." They decided it made sense to introduce Class Action and one case in grades 9 and 10 and do three other cases in grades 11 and 12.

When the person Braaten worked with on the Safe Schools grant suggested getting the legal community involved, word went out to various law firms and organizations. Through a stroke of good luck, the project peaked the interest of Marta Chou, an attorney with Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi of Minneapolis who serves as chairperson of the Minnesota Bar Association’s Committee on Diversity.

Mobilizing the legal community
Chou enlisted the volunteer help of colleagues by telling them how "a student who has never been exposed to the field of law may discover it’s her calling and someday become a judge. An underachieving student may be motivated by the personal story he hears from a law student who also struggled in high school. A student who has just come here from another country may find a role model in a lawyer who is herself a recent immigrant. And because Class Action helps students make good choices about alcohol, you may even save a life."

The groundbreaking partnership that resulted between teachers, students, law students, attorneys and judges played a huge role in the overall success of Class Action. "For many students, this was their first positive experience with the law," said Chou. "Although the primary goal is for students to become more conscious about making good decisions, a side benefit is that they see attorneys and law students--some only 10 years older than they are--who work hard to protect them. They might think, 'I could do that too,' and go on to become investigators, paralegals, lawyers or judges."
 
Law students are scheduled near the beginning of the unit. Among other things, they talk about legal terms, depositions, and oral arguments. They describe what it is like to analyze and prepare a case, and how to speak effectively in front of a jury. Along the way, they answer questions about law school and what it means to be a lawyer. Just before the case is ready for the mock trial, attorneys or judges come to the classroom to explain legal procedures, hone the students’ skills for trial, and talk about similar cases they have tried.

Because of the great diversity among Minneapolis students, Chou encourages law students and attorneys of color to volunteer so students can see someone who looks just like them and stayed in school and entered the legal profession.

'Hmong lawyers, Somali judges'
Braaten added a creative touch to the experience. "We have a huge population of English-language learners from all over the world, so I tried to make this curriculum come to life for our kids," she said. "I put together a kit with gavels, judges' robes, police shirts and badges, legal charts, legal pads, and pencils--even American flags for behind the judges. The kids loved it, and it gave me goose bumps to see Hmong lawyers and Somali judges. Student attorneys dressed up for the part, and many of the jurors wore their 'church' clothes to trial. It was a great way to expose kids from all over to the issues and to our legal system."

"Volunteers love it too," said Chou, who has mobilized 75 people from the legal community to participate. "We've done it three semesters now, and some of our first volunteers are still with us, and they've gone on to enlist friends, their law school teachers, and even clients to come to classrooms."
 
Said volunteer Matthew Bandt, an attorney for Jardine, Logan & O'Brien in Minneapolis: "I found Class Action very intriguing because it combines two fundamental tenets of the legal profession: pursuing social justice and trying cases. I also enjoyed working with the students and seeing their interest in the case grow."

Why so successful?
The implementation of Class Action in Minneapolis has been the most successful nationwide, in terms of number of student participants (4,000) and quality. "The thorough training and ongoing support for teachers has made all the difference in the world," said Marty Harding, Publishing program manager at Hazelden. "Jan Braaten provided unparalleled coordination of the program, reconvening teachers twice a year to share strategies, integrating the legal community into the program, and using her own creativity to fashion a program unique to Minneapolis."

Harding said plans are in the works to provide an on-line component of Class Action to serve the Minneapolis schools and others. Also, when Class Action is revised it will likely receive an "urbanized" version to reflect more diversity in its content.

Class Action has been shown to help delay the onset of alcohol use, reduce use among youth and teens who have already tried alcohol, and limit the number of alcohol-related problems experienced by young drinkers. Because of these impressive outcomes, Class Action was designated as a "model program" by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration--the highest distinction they award.

When you invite students to be "a part of the learning instead of just listening," as one of them put it, amazing things can happen. "It taught me the job of being a lawyer and it taught me to be smart with alcohol and drugs," said one student. "I think we did an excellent job."

For more information on Class Action and how to bring it to your school, please contact Marty Harding by email or at 888-257-7810, ext. 4826, or visit www.hazelden.org/projectnorthland.

Mike Conley, former chairman of the Hazelden Foundation Board of Trustees and a long-time board member, knows well the breadth and effectiveness of Hazelden services. So when he sees some of that programming put into action in his hometown of Minneapolis, it's gratifying.

Conley has helped fund Class Action in the Minneapolis public high schools through the Conley Family Foundation. When he sees the student response to Class Action, he knows the popular alcohol use prevention program is making a difference.

"We got to work in groups and got to know other classmates. I learned more about drinking laws and what could happen if you get caught drinking and driving."

"We acted out a court case that related to something in our lives (underage drinking). It was fun to pretend to be lawyers, but still learn some important life lessons. The Class Action project cannot get any better."

"Class Action offers a different twist to prevention, one that's entertaining and engaging for young people," said Conley. "The kids really get into it, with the role-playing of lawyers and judges."

Conley is encouraged that the new partnership formed between the legal community and the Minneapolis schools will serve as a model and inspire other users of Class Action to involve lawyers and judges. Class Action is a great way to give back to the community, said Conley, who grew up in north Minneapolis and attended public schools there, including North High School. His generosity also helped bring Project Northland, the prevention program for middle school youth and a forerunner to Class Action, to north Minneapolis several years ago.

"The Hazelden staff did a great job of identifying prevention needs, collaborating with the schools and legal community, and making an impact," Conley said. "Class Action plants a seed and helps students make informed decisions about alcohol and other drugs."

--by Cynthia Orange

Published in The Voice, Summer 2007