On a statewide survey administered in 2006, nearly four in 10 Nathan Hale High School sophomores said they had consumed alcohol within the past month.

Last year, only about half as many sophomores gave that answer, a 19 percentage point drop — and significantly lower than the state average.

The change in student behavior took center stage Monday night as members of Prevention Works in Seattle (Prevention WINS), a community coalition formed to tackle teenage drinking in Northeast Seattle, celebrated their successes and discussed how to apply their methods to the rest of the city.

"It's important for the kids to be commended for making good choices," Roosevelt High School parent Mia Doces said before the "Celebrate Healthy Youth" event at Nathan Hale. "It's important to know that the things we are doing are working."

Prevention WINS helps fund drug-prevention officers and research-based alcohol-prevention programs in Northeast Seattle middle and high schools, works with police to combat drug use and teaches parents how to talk to their children about alcohol abuse, Doces said.

The coalition also partners with student groups promoting positive choices, said Ella Tutor, an 11th-grader at Nathan Hale and past vice president of RADD — Raiders Against Destructive Decisions.

"You can have a teacher tell you a bajillion times not to do something, but if your friend tells you, it really makes a difference," she said.

The larger coalition, funded by state and federal grants, was formed in 2006 after Nathan Hale and Roosevelt High School scored poorly on the Healthy Youth Survey, said Lisa Sharp, the coordinator of the survey for Seattle schools. The coalition decided to try several strategies to respond to the problem, she said.

"We can't say that this one strategy in particular was the most effective. What we're saying is that we did all of these things and look what happened," said Sharp, pointing to the improvement in Healthy Youth Survey results.

The survey, given every two years, asks students to report their drug and alcohol use as well as their sexual behavior, nutrition choices and other indicators of "healthy living."

In 2006, 39 percent and 38 percent of sophomores at Nathan Hale and Roosevelt, respectively, admitted to alcohol use — higher than the state average of 33 percent.

By 2010, the state average had fallen to 28 percent but alcohol use at Nathan Hale and Roosevelt dipped to 20 and 25 percent, respectively.

Coalition members said they organized Monday's event after reading the numbers, which were released at the end of last school year, and deciding to show the rest of the city how to make a difference.

"This can be replicated. This is something that can happen in other parts of the city," Sharp said. "The fight's not over. We're going to continue this work."

Brian M. Rosenthal: 206-464-3195 or brosenthal@seattletimes.com