Partner with Community

To effectively address substance use, particularly tobacco and nicotine use in schools, working with partners can allow for more support and resources. In Colorado, a number of local public health agencies are working on strategies to address youth tobacco and nicotine use and may be valuable partners with schools and districts to assess and support implementation of policies.

Consider these steps and key questions for school and community partnerships. 

1) Find your contacts and partner organizations

As mentioned previously, Colorado is a local-control state. This often means the terminology, titles, roles, and structures for districts, local public health agencies, and other community organizations can vary significantly. The size of the district or agency also will dictate differences. Consider these questions for how to find contacts for partnerships.

• Which individuals in the district or agency work on addressing school discipline, substance use, health education, policy changes, communications? What collaborative groups already exist, such as a District Health Advisory Committee, Tobacco Prevention Coalition, Communities that Care, 1451 Collaborative Management Program, etc.? Who are the decision makers and who are the staff who work on implementation? Who is willing to support assessment and implementation of policies and practices?

2) Define what is part of your community

• How would you define your community? How does the community define itself? Who are your community’s leaders? How does your community currently engage with schools on health-related or substance use topics? What is the history of the school and the community, and how does that history inform current relationships between your school and community? What shared values and goals do schools and community partners share?

3) Discuss your needs and strengths

• How can you use data to identify needs and gaps? What can you do to combine the results with your community’s concerns and goals to set priorities for addressing substances, such as tobacco and nicotine. How can you collaborate with community to assess tobacco and nicotine policies and practices? How can you work to develop a prioritized list of the school’s needs and action items?

4) Determine collaborative actions with schools and community partners

• What are some specific activities that your school and community can do together? What role can community partners serve with policy change or implementation? Who are the logical partners for meeting some of the school’s needs? How can you narrow to specific priority needs where your school and community can work together to develop an action plan?

5) Involve diverse partners

• Do partnerships reflect the diverse voices of the school and community? Are the school and community practicing cultural humility, including self-reflection on how individual backgrounds affect situations? Do the school needs you identified as part of your action plan equitably address the success of the students? How can the school and partners use data to assess the diverse needs of students, staff, and community members?

NOTE: Steps were adapted from The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) "Creating School and Community Partnerships" resource.

PLANNING TOOL: School Partnerships and Priorities

• • • The School Partnership and Priorities Planner linked in a spreadsheet here can help local public health agencies and other community partners identify how to make connections using different data sources with example resources and questions for discussion.

    • Make a copy of the Planner here. This will become your own editable copy.