L.E.A.D. Celebrates a Decade of Empowering N.J. Students to Resist Drugs and Violence 

L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence) is thrilled to announce its 10-Year Anniversary!  What began in New Jersey has now spread throughout the country, and LEAD has impacted over 1,000,000 children in 2,500+ Schools, and trained over 6,000+ Law Enforcement officers across the United States.    

L.E.A.D.’s mission is to provide students with effective strategies to make good decisions in a complicated world – and to provide the leadership and resources to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the means to partner with educators, community leaders, and families.

L.E.A.D. has become the forerunner in school-based prevention education delivered by law enforcement.  Our partnership with the Mendez Foundation to implement the Too Good Curricula which enables us to offer evidence-based programs that are continually updated by prevention experts to align with prevention science, and the latest research and educational trends. 

Through L.E.A.D.’s  “In the Classroom” program, trained L.E.A.D. instructors teach students about the dangers of drugs and violence by not only increasing knowledge of these substances’ harmful effects, but also through helping to solidify students’ abilities in a variety of areas including goal-setting, decision-making, and communication skills.  Students stay engaged with the lessons through the use of fun and interactive games and skits.   The result is the promotion of positive, pro-social attitudes and behaviors which foster healthy relationships and increase resistance to substance abuse and conflict, as well as peer pressure.

L.E.A.D.’s programs feature fully scripted lessons, age-appropriate content, assessment and evaluation tools, enhanced cooperative learning, built-in classroom management, a parent/guardian component, and technical program support. Each of our programs has undergone an evaluation study conducted by third-party researchers using randomized treatment-control group designs including pre and post testing. Additionally, LEAD offers ongoing instructor monitoring to provide support and ensure fidelity of implementation.  By conducting this research, L.E.A.D. ensures that instructors deliver the most tested, proven, and effective anti-drug and anti-violence curricula available for K-12 students.

We are excited to partner with the NJASA for this year’s School Safety Conference and to share more of L.E.A.D.’s story and provide examples of the positive impact we are having In the Classroom and On the Street.