During a recent La Cañada Unified School District Board meeting, community members learned more about the Peer Support Program at La Cañada High School, as well as a new drone policy for the district.
LCHS Principal James Cartnal and staff members shared to the Board details from the LCHS Wellness Center on the peer support classes and respective curriculum and goals.
The presentation was made after a parent at a previous meeting said she had no information about the peer support program and was concerned about its practices.
“We recognized the benefit that a pure listening program could bring, and we had visions that we would articulate one year at a time,” said Cartnal.
Cartnal explained that the program and its classes were developed to offer levels, with Peer Support 1 approved by the Board in 2018, followed by Peer Support 2 approved in 2019 and Peer Support 3 in 2021.
Peer Support teacher Lucy Pelletier gave a presentation on the Peer Support 1 class and discussed topics that the students are learning and what steps they take to excel.
She said that students in eighth, ninth and 10th grades are able to take the class but must go through a process. Students must come to an informational session, fill out an application and participate in an interview and screening process before they can join.
Pelletier said students learn the concepts of trust, how to understand values, appreciate differences, learn the role of a peer support provider, how to actively listen and set boundaries, to name a few skills.
“In unit four we focus on active listening skills which include paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, being aware of our body language and what that communicates to others, and the atmosphere that this is strictly on listening without ever giving advice,” said Pelletier.
Teacher and counselor supervisor for the program, Rachel Zooi said she appreciated the opportunity to discuss it.
“I share concerns about any peer support program that is not properly implemented,” she said. “And I hope that this presentation helps disseminate accurate information and highlights the many benefits of such a program and the hard work behind it.”
Zooi explained the expectations set for the classes in which students, 85% of the time, participate in group and campus-wide activities or events. The classes’ main objective is to build communication skills and get involved with the community. The other aspect of the class is one-to-one student support, where students get the chance to talk to their peers in a one-on-one session on school-related issues and relationships.
Program students typically meet up with other peers who are new within the district or school, and talk to students who are referred to them by staff. A student can also come at will and talk to a peer support student.
Zooi said that meetings are closely documented and supervised, and peer support students know what their role is and what to do if things get out of hand.
After a session, a peer support student is required to fill out a form, detailing how the session went, what topics came up in the conversation, what emotions the student was feeling, and what next steps might need to be taken. Peer support students are also trained not to discuss the meetings or divulge private information.
Parents can opt their child out of meeting with a peer support student if they want, Zooi added.
“We worked really hard to put all these guardrails in place, and to train the students and they do amazing things,” said Zooi.
“It’s a promising practice, which means it’s getting results,” she added. “It’s helping us with this youth mental health crisis, it’s helping us with school climate.”
Some parents voiced concerns about the program, including about children taking on the role of counselor and/or divulging private information. Others expressed support, noting that positive and caring reinforcement from peers could help struggling students.
Kyle Sears voiced his support for the program and the opportunity for students to find their calling in life.
“The work that y’all are doing is life changing,” he said. “As someone who’s in a caring profession, I know how important this kind of training is, and that teenagers would have an opportunity to not only learn these skills, but use them for themselves and then help others. That’s where calling is built. And so, I have nothing but support for this kind of work.”
Wayne Page voiced his concern of students “counseling” others and having the urge to gossip.
“Every time a student opens up to a peer support person and is later treated badly by any classmate, at any time, that student will think in the back of their mind that’s possibly because what they revealed to that counselor was gossiped, and it is impossible to prove otherwise,” he said.
Parent Sugi Sorensen shared similar sentiment as Page, and added that regular mental health professionals go through years and years of education and training before having the opportunity to start having sessions.
“But it’s clear to me that there are issues, legitimate issues, that have been raised and that there’s tremendous risk to the district and to the students who you’re putting into these situations,” he said.
“You have untrained minors, essentially practicing mental health care without a license,” he added. “There’s a reason mental health practices are heavily regulated by the state, and the barriers to entry are high.
Jada Yang, student representative for the Board, also shared her insight as a student who has been in the program for two years.
“From my own experiences, I’ve seen how peer support is so important for other students who are getting counseled or getting helped, who even need just one person to understand what they’re going through to hear and value what they have to say,” she said.
“Sometimes teens just need someone they can relate to, amateur or not, professional or not,” she added.
The parent who initially brought the concern to the Board, Jamie Abrahamian, was also in attendance and shared her thanks to the district for addressing her concerns.
“I think we definitely need the information out there,” she said. “So if parents like me don’t feel comfortable having their kid talk to another child, they can opt out, because I would say 90% of our parents, probably even more, have absolutely no idea that their kid could possibly be talking to another child.”
Another parent, DeDe Cook, passionately expressed her thoughts about how a lot of students don’t want to speak to their parents, a teacher or another adult about their problems, and how peer listening is very valuable.
“There are students out there who do not want to talk to a teacher, who do not want to talk to a counselor, who do not want to talk to their parents, but they will talk to another student,” Cook said.
“We expect so much from our students, the demand of grades and excellence and athletics and they’re doing so much,” she added. “They need a place where they feel safe, and they can talk to, and no one is out recruiting these kids to come in and talk to these peer support. If they want to, they can and if they don’t want to, they don’t have to.”
The Board also addressed details related to forms, staff referrals, the role of the peer support student, and the number of students enrolled.
Board member Octavia Thuss asked, “Where is the line drawn between topics that students are trained to speak with peers on versus an adult professional?”
Zooi explained that students should be aware of what their role is as a peer support student and able to redirect the conversation if need be. If there is a sign of harm or risk that a student mentions, the peer support student is required to inform Zooi or another adult right away.
“Thank you for all the community input, and we will watch this closely,” said Radabaugh. “And Wendy, let’s talk about some of the ideas we have from all sides and how to continue to evolve the program.”
NEW DRONE POLICY
Melissa Greenwood, associate superintendent of business and operations, introduced a new policy at the Board meeting which addressed the idea of operating drones on campus.
“This addresses the strategies for avoiding disruption and maintaining the safety, security and privacy of individuals when the district grants permission for a person or entity to operate an unmanned aircraft system, also known as a drone, on the district’s property,” said Greenwood.
The policy was brought to the Board for a first read and they addressed the concern about the policy during school hours and after school hours.
“It sounds like this is intended for during school hours and school events, but I think that probably does raise some other issues about whether we have other safety issues that we should address on weekends,” said Board member Dan Jeffries.
He suggested that the staff make changes to the policy so that drones are used during school hours or school activities.
“The superintendent or designee may grant permission to employees and students for the use of drones only if the planned activity supports instructional, co-curricular, extracurricular, athletic, or operational purposes,” reads the policy.
Students should only operate a drone on or over LCUSD property under the supervision of an LCUSD employee as part of an authorized activity.
Radabaugh brought up the problem the policy could have when discussing joint use agreements with the city.
“I think our issue right now tonight is just focusing on the impact on school,” he said. “I also think before we did anything on weekends, we’d have to look into whether or not it affects the joint use of the property and whether or not we can come up with things that affect the use of the property on weekends.”
The Board also discussed the policy and the difference of someone wanting to use a drone to film the campus commercially compared to a student, staff member or community member who wants to use their own drone.
“I think we need to answer some of these questions,” said Radabaugh. “I’d like to talk to the city about what they’re doing in our parks.
“So, I’m not sure we’re ready to make any kind of decision on this,” he added.
City resident David Haxton said that the board doesn’t need any sort of board policy for the drones since they have rules and authority in place to stop it.
“I don’t see why you should be making rules that aren’t enforceable,” said Haxton. “And as pointed out, you have joint use. If you were to have a policy, I would think your policy would have to specify your times.”
First published in the October 5 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
