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Students, counselors and interns urge expansion of ADAPT pilot; board discusses funding paths
Summary
Speakers described a student-driven substance-use prevention and intervention pilot at Orange High School and urged the board to sustain and expand it; board members and staff identified possible funding sources including at-risk state funds, federal grants and central-office reallocations.
Students, a counselor and community members told the Orange County Board of Education on April 7 about a student-driven substance-use prevention and intervention pilot at Orange High School and urged the board to support its continuation and expansion.
Melanie Lasky, a parent, Orange High School employee and North Carolina certified alcohol and drug counselor, described leading the ADAPT club and collaborating with Orange Partnership on a substance-use intervention pilot that launched in November. “This program was student driven. The students voiced the need and they were heard,” Lasky said, and she asked the board to “consider remedies around substance use and mental health so that we don't continue to lose students academically.”
Vidya Kasturi, a senior at Orange High School and a lead intern with the ADAPT program, said students have begun self-referring to the school-based program and have seen “a dramatic increase in the help that we've been able to give to students” since the program launched. Kasturi said confidentiality concerns and discomfort approaching staff had been barriers; the pilot allows staff- and student-referral as well as self-referral.
Community speaker Guyon Chambliss cited local data about students involved with the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and urged earlier school-based interventions for mental-health and substance-use challenges. Carrie Hamble amplified calls for ongoing attention to students with disabilities.
Board members and staff discussed funding pathways for school-level pilots. Ms. Rhonda Rath and other staff noted that some schools already use state “at-risk” funds and federal resources to support tutoring and interventions; Ms. Dole and Mr. Atherton noted district-level funds can be redirected but that doing so shifts resources from other priorities. Dr. Jones and board members said central-office and grant funds remain options to scale successful pilots without waiting for the county-request outcome.
Speakers and members agreed the pilot’s early results merited further attention; no formal board action to allocate new district funds to ADAPT was recorded at the meeting.
