APNA Student Surveys to be given in Ashdown
By: Nancy Cook
Updated: October 29, 2012
The Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment (APNA) Student Surveys in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 at Ashdown Junior High and High Schools will be conducted during the morning of Nov. 7 and will focus on health risk behaviors that can result in injury and/or impede positive development among youth. The survey will serve as a resource to be used by the school district and intends to gather information needed to plan important prevention and intervention programs to combat such problems as alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, and violence among adolescents in our state.
Parents will be given an opportunity to return a passive permission form no later than Nov. 5 if they object to their child's participation in the survey.
Every November, the Arkansas Department of Human Services conducts the survey of public schools, which also includes risk and protective factors, which are attitudes and opinions that research has shown to predict involvement in these health risk behaviors.
All participating schools will receive an individualized school report containing school level and statewide data, which will assist administrators, faculty and staff in developing strategic prevention programs, based on students' needs, and targeting behavior problems related to substance abuse, violence, delinquency, and truancy.
