Reseda : High School Students Offer Counsel to Kids

Cleveland High School on Friday will host a first-ever “Cavalier Conference,” a daylong affair in which 300 kids from the school will encourage younger students to steer clear of cigarettes and to resolve conflicts peacefully.

About 750 students from Winnetka Avenue, Melvin Avenue, Blythe Street, Napa Street and Cantara Street elementary schools and from Northridge and Sutter middle schools are expected at the conference.

In small groups, the youngsters will tour the school and attend workshops in drama, marine biology, crafts and math.

They will also attend sessions in conflict resolution led by Cleveland’s Blue and Red Ribbon group. A Cleveland organization dubbed Education Through Entertainment will present a dramatic presentation with an anti-smoking theme, according to school counselor Ann Mitchell, the conference coordinator.

Those messages seem to ring more true when presented by peers, Mitchell said.

“It’s so much better than hearing it from an old woman like me,” she joked. “When [the messages] come from someone who is a young adult, the students respond much more positively.”

Although the Cleveland service groups have visited individual schools to talk about avoiding drugs and cigarettes, the conference is the first event to bring together many groups, Mitchell said.

The day is also an effort to help acclimate youngsters to the look, size, atmosphere and expectations of high school. Along those lines, all 750 students will get to attend a high school-style dance too.

“With appropriate music,” Mitchell laughed.