Letter to Teachers

{Year} National Youth Tobacco Survey

A

Dear Teacher:

We appreciate your school hosting the {Year} National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey is designed to collect comprehensive data on the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of middle and high school students (grades 6-12) with respect to tobacco use, intent to use, exposure to tobacco use, and exposure to tobacco marketing/advertising. A report summarizing the results will be published the following year and your school will be notified when the report is available for download.

Your class was randomly selected to participate and cannot be replaced. Enclosed are materials to help you prepare for the NYTS administration, including the Summary of School Arrangements Form, a survey fact sheet, a Data Collection Checklist, parental permission forms and reminder slips, and instructions to be read when distributing parental permission forms. If requested, parental permission forms and reminder slips are provided in Spanish. A copy of the questionnaire is available with your school’s contact person, if you would like to view it.

The enclosed Data Collection Checklist should be used to track and record the distribution and return of all parental permission forms. Names or ID’s for all students in your selected class should be listed on this checklist, not just those participating in the survey. Names will be kept private and the checklist will be destroyed after the completion of data collection. The names are needed to take roll, make sure students not in the selected class do not “slip in,” identify students eligible to complete the survey (i.e., returned parental permission form with a “yes” response), develop make-up lists of eligible students who are absent. This form needs to be filled out BEFORE the survey administration date.

You play a very important role in the survey. Your support and encouragement are necessary to ensure a high rate of participation among your students. A high participation rate is needed to produce valid national data.

Please follow the instructions below to prepare for the survey administration in your class.

1. Distribute a parental permission form to each student in your class at least 10 days prior to the survey administration date. Read to the class “Instructions to be Read in Distributing Permission Forms.” Please remind students in the selected class to return these forms as soon as possible. Encourage students to return the forms the next day.

2. Distribute a reminder slip and/or another parental permission form to students who do not return a form as of 3 days prior to the survey administration date.

3. Track and record the return of all permission forms on the Data Collection Checklist. Our data collector will meet with you immediately prior to the survey administration to review the checklist. NOTE: Returned parental permission forms remain at the school.

4. On the day of the survey, please plan an alternate activity for those students who do not have parental permission to take the survey or have not yet returned a parental permission form.

Survey procedures have been designed to protect your students’ privacy and allow for anonymous participation. During survey administration, you will be asked to remain at the front of the classroom to increase student candor. The survey will be administered by specially trained field staff. It will take about 35 minutes.

The participation of your students in the NYTS will help the CDC, educators, and public health officials assess and improve efforts to reduce tobacco use among adolescents throughout the Nation. If you have any questions, please call me toll-free at 1-800-675-9727 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. eastern time. Thank you again for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Kate Flint, Project Director

National Youth Tobacco Survey

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ICF International * 530 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850* 800-675-9727* 877-616-4577 (fax)