Whether you are walking through the halls, sitting in class, or eating lunch, sometimes it seems as if you can never get away from those posters about the drug use of MHS students. If you’ve never looked up close and seen the Tonka CARES logo, you might not be familiar with the group that organizes these statistical posters.
Tonka CARES project director, Rochelle Olson, has recently provided Breezes with some insight that will be very useful in your understanding of the organization and its posters.
The first useful fact in understanding Tonka CARES is its purpose. According to Olson, Tonka CARES is a “prevention-focused coalition made up of 40+ members representing various sectors of the community.”
This coalition works with local law enforcement, businesses, city government, Minnetonka Public Schools, non-profits supporting youth, faith communities, students and parents to provide awareness about youth substance use while working to reduce it.
Most students recognize the Tonka CARES name solely through the viewing of their factual posters. It is not uncommon to hear students in the halls of MHS asking, “Why should I care that 6 of 7 Skippers steer clear of alcohol? And where do they get these statistics?”
If you take part in the asking of these questions, today is your lucky day- the purpose behind the Tonka CARES posters has recently been made clear by Olson.
The posters are intended to “recognize the positive, instead of focusing on the negative.”
Olson claims that many people, including MHS students tend to “overestimate negative, unhealthy behavior among their peers while also underestimating positive, healthy behaviors.”
Tonka CARES works hard to keep students informed about the prevalence of healthy choices amongst their classmates. The organization does not wish to make decisions for students themselves, but provide “good information to help [them] do so.”
As for the information itself, the statistics come from annual surveys of MHS students- either the Minnesota Student Survey or the Minnetonka Student Survey, depending on the year. Both of these student surveys are “census-style and anonymous, and are completely voluntary” says Olson.
Along with Tonka CARES comes its two branches, both having different strategies that work toward the goal of providing awareness and decreasing student drug use.
One brand, “Reveal What’s Real” works on student communications through a social norms approach.
The social norms theory states that “individual behavior is influenced by oftentimes incorrect perceptions of how other members of our social groups think and act” (www.dictionary.com). Tonka CARES’ other brand, “Know the Power of Parents” works toward the same collective goal using “parent-focused communications and efforts.”
Along with these two brands, Tonka CARES uses many other strategies that include working toward policy change at the local level and collaboration with other organizations in the community to prevent youth drug use.
So, how can a student like yourself get involved? Project director, Rochelle Olson says that Tonka CARES “is always looking for student involvement.” Please e-mail [email protected] if you are interested in involvement with the organization or would like to know more.