Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #12: Robert Powell, Prevention & Intervention Specialist

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Episode #12: Robert Powell, Prevention & Intervention Specialist · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Alan Spichotti, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast gives me a way to share some of the great things happening in the Auburn School District with our great community.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I love my job, and part of what I love is I do all kinds of things that the public doesn't get to see, but I think would enjoy if they knew about it.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Today is one of those episodes where I think a lot of us would learn both about the supports that we have for students in Auburn School District and about the subject we're going to talk about.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So my guest today is our prevention and intervention specialist, one of one of three, uh, Mr.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Robert Powell.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us uh before we get started, what is a prevention and intervention specialist?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: Well, my specialty is dealing with uh youth that are uh dealing with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug-led issues.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: So our main focus is that if that is affecting the student or it's affecting their peers or it's affecting someone in their family, uh, we're a kind of a point person they can come and talk to.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um we originally got started as a preventative measure for a lot of our students get suspended from schools.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um so we wanted to kind of reduce the suspension and find out programs or things that can work with our youth to help them uh in regards to their usage.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so we'll get into your role a little bit deeper in a minute.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'm gonna start this out the way that we do each of these podcasts and ask you who is your favorite teacher?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: I have to go back to my eighth grade year.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, her name is Mrs.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: Wong.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: She was the first teacher to truly believe in me.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um as a lot of kids, I was labeled.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so to have that teacher kind to uh take down that label and let me be my true self and showcase my abilities to actually be uh a positive influence on my peers really kind of changed the whole trajectory in my kind of life because um school wasn't important to me when I was in um sixth, seventh, eighth grade.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um so having that ability and have someone that backed me along with my family uh was huge for me.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's really powerful.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I love those stories.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so then uh in in the kind of the short form, where did you go from there?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: You obviously go through high school.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um what put you on on a path to your current position in the Avon School District?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: After eighth grade, I got an opportunity to go to Oday High School uh in Seattle, Washington.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, from there, I went to Portland State University and got a criminal justice degree.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um always wanted to work with youth.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: So my main goal was to be a juvenile uh probation counselor.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um I went through that process, and unfortunately, I didn't get the position.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so it led me to come back to Seattle and I became a mental health counselor for uh therapeutic health services.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um I did that for a few years, and then I moved uh in different programs to a pro-youth advocate.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: So that's when I was going into high schools and middle schools and being a like a mentor, helping with kids with behavior modification issues, helping kids get emancipated, helping kids that was transit or homeless, um find housing or uh pregnant teens, help them get clothing vouchers and stuff for their children.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um I just came as a huge advocate for youth, and then that led me to become uh a juvenile counselor at a Whitterville treatment facility, and I did that for a couple years, and then I transitioned to a security guard in Renton School District.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: And when that happened, I started to learn about the high school world and everything that goes on with that.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: And then I remember doing a search one time and I found this little USB, and I was like, something's not right with this, and it ended up being a jewel.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, we need to pay attention to this because I'm starting to see this more and more in the schools.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: So now I fast forward, I'm now a behavior specialist for a behavior modification specialist for a Muckle Shoe tribe, and um a coworker of mine's name of Lawrence Davis, who was working for the Auburn School District, said, Rob, I think you will be good for this position.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: You should you should apply.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: And he had tried for about over a year, and then the second year I said, Okay, I'm gonna try.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so I applied and I got the position, and then I was kind of just blown away of how this role was meant for me.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of how I got my foot in the door, but then I seen the uptick of where the Jewel was several years ago to how the these vapes are now, and it's shocking how it's grown so fast and spread out amongst our younger uh generation.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And just for our audience, probably many of them are familiar with Joule, but could you just explain in case they're not?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: Joule is like the I guess the first kind of prototype of expansion in regards to the vaping devices.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um so it was it was created um by two individuals and they just wanted to first as a remedy for people getting off cigarettes.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: That was the main goal for it at first.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: But then come to find out that people was using these devices uh for marijuana and stuff like that.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: But the vape became the first one.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: We just heard about Robert's path, and and it's interesting as I've gotten to know people in this field.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there are a lot of like stories like that, you know, collections of experience that uh lead to this real desire to work with kids and make a big difference in an area that's really important, uh, and use use whatever's in your background to to help out.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: So uh you have colleagues in this work.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Tell our audience like where where you work and and uh what other resources we have across the district for for students in terms of prevention and intervention.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: So our team uh is comprised of three individuals, uh myself, which is Robert Powell.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: I am located at uh Auburn Mountain View High School, and also reside at West Auburn High School.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um then there's uh Brandy Jackson, uh, who's located at Auburn High School, and there's Edwin Dixon, who's located at Riverside High School.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: But all of us uh kind of work together in a sense, and also we team up and partner with our middle schools.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um and we also we do uh presentations at our elementary school level as well.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because I feel like the trend uh is to start earlier before we can prevent later on.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so let's let's uh keep giving people a window in the into your world for a minute, and then we're gonna talk about um what our students are experiencing and how we can support them.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: What does a sample day look like in your position as we we call it a PI prevention in intervention specialist, kind of a kind of a mouthful.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: So what does a day look like for you as a PI?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: Every day is different, but then kind of the same.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: So for me, I have I'm always at two different schools, so I alternate every day.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: So typically, if a student um gets referred to me from admin, means they uh got in trouble with alcohol, tobacco, other drug-related issues, I'll usually get an email sent to me.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: And so I kind of add them to my schedule.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then throughout the day, I will pull them out of class and just meet with them.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: But other than that, if I don't have that, I'm usually I'm going in off the school and I'm just walking around and just getting to know students.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um I feel like just being personable and with them and understanding their stories or their backgrounds gives me more insight and lets them kind of drop those barriers and to have those in-depth conversations with me because a lot of time I realize it's not really the students that actually get in trouble for alcohol, tobacco, other drug-led issues.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's the other students, the very quiet students, the ones that are off to themselves, and they are having a higher uptick of usage or they're having a lot of mental health issues.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what I've been finding out as I progress and get to know these students.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get into like, you know, the signs of use and things like that, uh, let's start with a success story.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about a student or an experience you've had where your role has worked and made a difference and and you feel good about it.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Man, I have a several several stories that come to mind.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um but the most recent one uh just occurred.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: And um it was a young man that I met at um Auburn Mountain View, and he was going through a lot of issues.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: Home life, school life.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um school was not very important to him, that wasn't really coming to school, um, and was just trying to just kind of survive in his world.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we started to meet regularly, uh, and throughout time we realized that a different school might be a better fit for them.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: So they was able to transfer to West Auburn High School, and it was like a full like 180.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like this kid was seen for you know themselves, um, got some confidence in themselves, um, straight away from like not a lot a lot of negative behaviors.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um he had a great support system with some of his siblings, that they all kind of went to the same school, and this gave him a level of um just of like joy that I haven't seen from him.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: And then because this kid, you would say like he was like, I'm not gonna graduate.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: School is not for me.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: And he just graduated, you know, and the smile on his face and the conversations that we we we have with uh me and the security guard at uh West Auburn, Mr.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Carr, have these deep in-depth conversations with a lot of our students, and he just came in and shared like how thankful he was for us, um, being an example and role model for him, and how he knows that now he's capable of achieving great things.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: And to me, like it meant a lot just knowing that I had a small part of that.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: That must be very rewarding, uh, and I'm grateful that you had that experience.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, so thank you for sharing that story.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for asking.
• 10:54
  unknown: Yeah.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we're gonna shift gears a little bit and talk about um start with um what what advice do you have for adults?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So we could be speaking to parents or family members, we could be speaking to concerned staff members um who should know about uh signs of use and maybe a student who could benefit from a referral to a PI uh or might need uh help in other ways.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: So examples would be like signs of vaping, signs of drug use or alcohol use.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what what should adults be looking for?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: The telltales.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: And a lot of it becomes so um normal that we kind of overlook it.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: For example, if we're just saying at lunchtime and usually a lot of kids congregate to the lun the lunchroom area, but then you see some that are displaced.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: Some may be standing on the stairwell by themselves, you know.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: And as you go to on a break or go to your car or something like that, you see that student all the time.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: Ask that student a question, how are they doing?
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, because those typically are the kids that are isolating themselves, that could be going through things.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I've noticed by me getting to know a lot of students, I found that those students are some that are seeking attention but are so afraid uh and the through anxiety or depression, whatever they got going on, um, how to seek help.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um for our students that might be in a classroom, um it could be your student that's constantly sleeping all the time.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: So they're sleep deprived.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_02: Why are they sleep deprived?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: Because they're not able to sleep.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: It could that be due to usage or stress was going on at home.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um or the random mood swings.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if you see a student that you have regularly and they're like, this student is just not themselves today.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_02: What's going on?
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um those are could be just typical signs that um a lot of ch children that I've come in contact telltales for usage.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um but then it's also what's what's scary, it's it's sometimes it's the student that's doing perfectly fine.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: And for me, I've noticed this the signs in that is more like the bathroom.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: This student goes to the restroom a little more than usual, or they're constantly wanting to leave the classroom, even though their grades aren't great, and so we overlook that, says this one of my good students, perfectly fine, it's okay, they can get a pass.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: But some of those students are meeting up with other students and and and involving in negative behaviors.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think that probably is is surprising that you started there.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I think a lot of people would be thinking, you know, you'd be talking about, well, what are their eyes look like, or their breath, or you know, are they coughing or or whatever.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but it's really those social indicators.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know another thing that uh sometimes is is a tell with substance use or or that parents might want to look for is related to like visual cues like clothing.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Can you just share a little bit about that?
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um a lot of our students are very kind of outspoken in their clothing and what they wear.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um so if you ever see like cookies, cookies is a main uh marijuana clothing brand that you see them on hoodies, uh beanies, jackets.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I see it going around all the time throughout the school.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: Also, it would be like uh the marijuana uh leaf that would be on Crocs, socks, um, things like that, or even uh the cigar packages what they kind of use to roll up the marijuana, call uh bl uh backwoods.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: So it would be a backwood sign, and usually would have smoke or cigarettes behind it, around it.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um these are just a couple of things that you know should start paying attention to because that can lead you in direction like, hey, my child could be engaging in this uh or even this kind of just in kind of smoke brands, like no, just ones like uh LRG, stuff like that, um, that produce those clothing brands with the marijuana labels.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: So that's something just kind of just keep the eye out.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's uh keep going on vaping for a minute.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Tell our audience a little bit more about uh how to recognize vaping and and uh things that that they should know uh because I think it was marketed initially as maybe a safer alternative or a way to quit smoking and uh some of the safety issues that we now have.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: The vaping world, they're ahead of the game.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: They have done a brilliant job in marketing to our youth.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: As now, as a as a new parent now, I would say, like, if my student was, if I was to go through my students' um, let's go with their their supply box of their pencils and glue and sharpies and all this stuff, highlighters, all these things now are being created as potential vaping devices.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: So you have to double check everything these days.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um the pencil, the pen, or sorry, the pen, a mechanical pen can be altered as a vape.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um I have seen firsthand sharpies that are now vapes, markers, highlighters, uh, vapes, uh potential vapes.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um we got to the world of um students who have um who battle with inhalers.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: They have fake inhalers, you know, they have jawstrings.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, a lot of kids and our these kids our students wear hoodies.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: Hoodies now can be have a jawstring that can be a potential vape.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um they're very discreet, they're small, little hand-held devices that you wouldn't think nothing of.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um the latest one that I've been seeing now, um, they made it look like a a Slurpee.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: A little small, like a little toy, a gadget.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: So a toy that's small.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you have things that look like iPhone cases or iPhones or iPhone watches.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um the world has is uh altered like so much in regards to the vaping world and what can be vapes.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um you have you gotta watch out even for adults, like they have coffee mugs that are vapes, they have key fobs that are vapes.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's all for kids can basically kind of hide in plain sight in a sense.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so it's kind of hard now uh as teachers, as parents, as you know, people in this world to really spot a vape.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um so you have to look at the gestures.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if the kids, the hands-to-mouth gesture, um typical things are it could be um you know them passing things around or stuff like that.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um but as for just saying what a vape is, they got things called snails.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: They look like a snail, but it's a it's a vape.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I guess the the hardest thing uh to me in this vaping world is the accessibility of it.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: How do kids get these?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it's it's not legal, right?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: For uh we have to be 21.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: So it just throws me off that how are these kids getting all these vapes?
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: But like um what they have shared with me is a lot of it's from their peers, a lot of it's from their older siblings, and some of it comes from parents, because some of our parents uh are not already aware of the harms, uh harmful it is, because they're themselves might be trying to, you know, kick the cigarette.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm just I'm going to the vape.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but what gets getting left around in now the students grabbing that or the younger siblings grabbing that, um, it's been the biggest thing.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: Also, the fact that marijuana is legal, uh, kids think is more accessible.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: So that's I got the dab pens now.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: So the dab pits kind of go hand in hand with the vapes.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but now they have these corner stores that are not even carding a lot of our students.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: So it'll be great if we can, you know, find a way to kind of correct some of these establishments from selling to our youth.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but then all they can do is turn to is the internet.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: And the internet, they can go purchase a device, but all they do is click one button.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: Are you above the age of 21?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: That's the only deterrent.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: And as most kids, they're going to click yes, and all they need is a form of identification and a credit card, and that's it.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: And typically if they're buying something online, they're using their parents.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and the the profiting off of our kids and their health uh is insidious, and it's part of why our school district joined a mass action lawsuit uh with I think thousands of districts across the country uh documenting the harm that's being done by these devices and actually uh obtained a uh financial settlement uh for things that have have been done marketing to kids that are clearly illegal and uh harmful to to um our young people.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about the harms for a second.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I don't I don't think they're well understood and especially by students who start using vapes um and hanging out with with our PIs.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've even been educated about the concentration of nicotine and uh things that happen to your lungs and let alone some of the other drugs that can be laced into the vapes.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: So tell our listeners about that, Robert.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: So vapes have like I guess huge uh nicotine contract.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_02: And the typical cigarette would just only have, you know, like the 5% or something like that.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: But now vapes, you're able to modify them.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: You got the mods that are huge, uh bigger device, you can add e liquid to those devices.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um so kids are just not knowing uh the potency level to it, and they're not realizing that, and I I always share this with students, and they kind of always have that aha moment or the big eye moment is when like they realize that 200 puff.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Puffs is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: So I'll say that again.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: 200 puffs is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: So these devices range from 1,500 to 7,000 puffs.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_02: The average one is the fume, uh, which is the name of uh one of the devices, holds 3,500 to 5,000.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_02: So these kids are inhaling 20 to 25, 30 packs of cigarettes.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the part where they don't realize how harmful uh this epidemic can be.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um because big they're in a sense are the guinea pigs um for big corporations because I feel like there's gonna be so many health risks and health issues that's going to happen to these kids when they get into their late 20s and early 30s.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um kids that I'm talking to are already having tough time breathing.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: If you tell them to, hey, can you run a lap, they are having a hard time running a lap.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um I've had kids that already been hospitalized.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_02: And it wasn't till that moment that they said, Oh okay, maybe this is a little more harmful than I thought it was.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we were speaking with a student last week who said she was being chased by a dog and she couldn't run two blocks, and that was her wake-up call to quit.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but not everybody is able to quit.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: These are uh addictive uh behaviors and and we know that each person responds differently and and for some it's very difficult to to quit.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh I mean I'm glad that you mentioned we don't know.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is early in the history of apes, and we don't it's one of the scariest things.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know the long-term health effects.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we're really concerned.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's why as a district we have prevention and intervention specialists like Robert Powell to help our students, um, and why we do things like this to get the word out.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um periodically, schools put on sessions for for parents.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: If let me take this one step farther.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say a parent uh has concerns, how can they start a conversation with their student?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what's what's a good way to enter that conversation?
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: As once being a student myself, I never like to be uh talked down to.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: So trying to frame a conversation, we're just having a casual conversation, where you're talking to them.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I found the easiest way to do it is something that I've I've been practicing with uh my fiance, just regular check-ins.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_02: So it doesn't matter how the week was been, and we're always just going to check in.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_02: So that could be uh every every every Sunday or every Friday or Wednesday.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: You pick a moment a day that you just check in with your child.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: And doing so, you can start building those relationships where they can be more open with you and have conversations about, hey, like what's going on in your school?
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I heard about um vape.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: Vaping has been an issue.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: Is that something that's going on in your school?
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever tried it?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if so, why who did you try it with?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: I think parents should also um get to know their child's peers.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: How about for students?
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: What can a student do to support a friend that they have concerns about?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_02: Allowing their friend to trust them.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: That friend should let that other friend know uh that they truly care about them and they want the best for them.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_02: And letting them know that there's people in the building that they can talk to.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because a lot of times when I I when I hear about kids um and they say, Hey, I have uh so-and-so going through something, and I always say, Hey, okay, well, share their name with me.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're hesitant because they feel like they will lose the trust of that friend by telling somebody.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I totally understand where they're coming from, but then I give my phone them a question as, well, what if something bad happens to that friend and you're the only one who knew about it?
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_02: How would you feel?
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_02: And their thoughts, they start thinking, and I'm like, I probably will feel bad.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, That has been a shared story for a lot of students who did not say anything.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: So let's try to not be that person and and try to help this individual.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: But I think it's just more kids advocating for their friends and peers.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I know for myself, um I came from a family of drug addiction and alcoholism.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: So I was open and transparent with my friends that hey, I don't want to partake in that based on my background.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_02: And respectfully, my friends understood that.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_02: So anytime I came around, they will distance themselves from that or will from me.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_02: So if these students can get the understanding that they can share their stories or share their moments, um, I think it can go a long ways.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Powerful, powerful words, Robert.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say a student is is ready for help, asking for help, or their friend wants to get involved, or their their caring family member, or an adult.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, what resources are available for students and uh what should students do who need help?
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh the best way is to uh have a wraparound team.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so that could be a collective group of family members, school counselor, admin, PI team, um, to figure out the the closest steps or best steps for that individual.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_02: Like something where we do as PIs, we uh do like a gains assessment.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so this gains assessment will let us know is this risky behavior, are they dependent or are they addicted, or they're just experimenting.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's a kind of a a big baseline for us as PIs, and then this is something we can kind of uh refer that to the counselor or the parent uh long as we have the approval from the student.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you can always reach out to the school if you have concerns about a student.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um I know our PIs are not uh on the disciplinary track.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're here for help.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and if you don't know a PI and you wanted to help a student, uh you can always contact a counselor or even a principal, uh, somebody who's a caring adult who can make that connection.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um we're gonna start to wrap up, and I want to do this on a a bit of an upbeat note.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um so let me ask you this question, Robert.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: What brings you joy in your role?
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_02: Joy is collaborating uh with my fellow team members.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_02: So Miss Jackson, who's at Auburn High School, and uh Mr.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_02: Dixon, who has Riverside High School, um we we constantly brainstorm on on ways we can uh provide more services for the kids.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_02: And uh Miss Jackson has uh helped create something with uh the voice of her students, and they created uh the PSA and as peers spreading uh support and awareness uh to students, and they had an amazing event that to me was kind of just uh mind-blowing, like because you can sense this is a change for the good, and the involvement that you've seen the students leading these conversations about prevention and intervention and support for their local peers, uh that brings me so much joy because that is the step we need.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because obviously, I feel like maybe we're bumping our heads by us trying to lead these conversations and we're not getting the the result or the impact we we we desire.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: But I think uh our kids leading this and us supporting them in that process so they can kind of get their words out and we can support those words, I think could be huge for our community.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I I'm looking forward to seeing where this uh takes off.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's beautiful.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: I you know, I think about so many of the challenges in society, it's really gonna be our students who help to to fix it.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it it's really hard in an area of addiction once you're um you know in that grasp, uh gets a lot harder throughout life.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh to have these students who are so caring, uh to have something like the we call it the PSA, peers spreading support and awareness, um student-led, adult guided, uh, to see the three PIs uh who work at all of our high schools working as a team.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it just shows that we're all in it together against you know this this common challenge, common enemy, if you will.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Robert, thank you so much for for some really wise words and advice and uh for everything you do with our kids.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna finish up now uh with a question I ask all my guests, and uh it's it's always a fun one.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Think back to your uh elementary school years.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: What was your favorite thing to do at recess?
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_02: I love sports.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um big football fan, so I kind of think of myself just being just super, super competitive with uh some of my childhood friends that I'm still friends to this day.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: Just on the you'd be on the blacktop playing basketball, I could be playing football, two and touch.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_02: It could be tether ball, it could be foursquare.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_02: It didn't matter what it was.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we were just strictly competitive, which kind of led to the classroom, which kind of led to me kind of getting labeled earlier as a problem child, because I just I couldn't leave it on the on the blacktop.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_02: I had to bring it into the classroom.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh well, that sounds like pure joy.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love it, I love it.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Robert, you've been a great guest, very informative.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I think what you do for our students is you know literally changing and saving lives.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know it's it's not easy work on a day-to-day basis, but it's really important.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with us today, Robert.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I just want to give a shout out to uh Ashley Boyd for and the power in me to to unlock this untapped potential, I guess.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: She saw something in me and she wanted me to take a leadership role, so I want to also thank her uh for putting me in this space.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Ashley, and and we have a few people who work here in the district office supporting work like this.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and uh Ashley and her team do a great job.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: All right, thanks, Robert.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to wrap up this episode.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the recess gives us a chance to tell the stories of the district.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this story or you found it informative, uh you may even uh know somebody who would really benefit from uh learning that we did in this episode.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Please let them know about it.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: We want to get the word out.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: We want to spread um the goodness in the district and also uh you know hit the hit the difficult subjects head on, uh, but with compassion and love and support for our students.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: So please spread the word.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'd like to uh again thank my my guest Robert Powell, thank Vicki Alonzo who produces the podcast, and uh invite you to join me next time on the recess podcast.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.