- Clayton High School
- Overview
CHS Students Meet with Elected Officials About Substance Use Prevention
Clayton High School students traveled with the District’s social workers to Jefferson City in March to take part in the 15th annual Speak Hard Youth Conference sponsored by ACT Missouri. The one-day conference brought together students in grades 9-12 from across the state to learn about and discuss underage drinking, substance use and prevention.
Prior to the conference, the CHS students spent time researching a specific issue related to substance use and preparing a speech on the topic. The students put this information to use when they participated in legislative visits at the State Capitol Building during the morning of the conference. Each student met with his/her state representative and state senator to share a call to action on the student’s selected substance use issue. Additionally, CHS sophomore Amour Jones was introduced on the Senate floor during the morning legislative session by her state senator, Brian Williams.
The students spent the afternoon of the conference attending two breakout sessions on various topics including substance use, suicide awareness and prevention, bullying and teen dating violence.
The CHS students and the District's social workers, Katie Burkard and Dr. Sheila Powell-Walker, participated in the Speak Hard Youth Conference in collaboration with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse’s ForReal Youth Council and the All In Clayton Coalition.