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Dr. Phillips students present mental‑health hub, mentoring and resiliency programs to school board
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Summary
Members of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council from Dr. Phillips High School described a student-created mental‑health website, peer‑mentoring “Panther Pairs,” resiliency summits and other student-led programs during the April 1 Orange County School Board meeting.
Students from Dr. Phillips High School told the Orange County School Board on April 1 about student-led efforts aimed at improving mental wellness, academic support and inclusion.
Adam Fattal, a member of the superintendent’s student advisory council, said his group built “a website that puts all of our mental health resources together in order to educate and inform our students, teachers, faculty, and staff of the available resources that we have at our school.” He said the site is designed to be a private, easy hub where parents and students can find counselors, programs and a council archive.
The students said other council initiatives include Panther Pairs, a peer‑mentoring program that pairs juniors and seniors who have passed Advanced Placement courses with freshmen and sophomores to help boost attendance and grades; resiliency summits, which the students adapted into short student‑led lunchtime sessions on topics such as anxiety and self‑esteem; and a range of arts and STEM programs run through school magnets and clubs.
“Katarina Carlson,” a senior in the TV‑film magnet, described hands‑on opportunities in her program and said the school’s film festival will open April 11. Zaniah Allen described resiliency summits she helped lead: after an initial plan to bring outside speakers drew little student interest, she said the council pivoted to student presenters and repeated sessions because “students kept showing up every time.” Andre Roche described the inclusion program through the dance magnet, which pairs high school students with preschoolers and students with special needs for peer support activities.
Superintendent Vasquez introduced the students and thanked them for the presentations. Board members praised the student initiatives and highlighted the mental‑health website and the student‑led format for resiliency sessions as examples of fast, practical approaches.
Board members who spoke at the meeting — including Member Ferrant, Member Gallo, Member Douglas and Member Felder — emphasized the potential of student leadership to reach peers more effectively than some adult‑led programs and applauded the students’ work creating accessible resources.
The students’ presentation also highlighted curriculum and extracurricular opportunities at Dr. Phillips High School, including the Center for International Studies, robotics, TV‑film and performing arts magnets and athletics; presenters noted the school enrolls nearly 3,000 high‑school students.
The student group took questions from board members and left the meeting after their presentation.
