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High-school TUPE leaders urge more substance-use education and peer supports
Summary
Students participating in the county TUPE (tobacco and cannabis prevention education) initiative described outreach and peer-education work and urged the Santa Cruz County Board of Education to expand prevention and school-based supports for youth affected by parental substance use.
Lara Schultz, the TUPE coordinator, introduced a group of high-school TUPE youth leaders who described peer-to-peer outreach, campus events and local advocacy. Schultz told trustees the students ‘‘have chosen to educate themselves about the impacts of substance use on adolescents’’ and have been working on campus education and community outreach.
Student speakers gave specific examples of activities and needs. Scarlett Roberto, a sophomore at Cypress High School, said personal experience with parental addiction drove her to ask the board for ‘‘more education for children who have been brought up in these circumstances’’ and described plans to set up peer education tables at Del Mar Elementary.
Another student, Natalie Stott of Saint Francis High School, urged stronger peer-education programs after describing vapes and cannabis being shared in middle-school social groups. Schultz encouraged trustees and staff to attend TUPE meetings to see student work firsthand. The board did not take formal action on the item; the presentations were part of the public-comment period.
