NOT FOUND: twinriverstecherappreciated.jpgMyrtle Griffin-Anderson was stunned when she was selected for a Dedication to Youth Award from the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE).
She learned about the award for her work with the Friday Night Live Club when a student began reading a bulletin called The Last Word, which is published by SCOE Friday Night Live/Club Live.
“One of my students started reading about me in the bulletin and I asked her what she was talking about,” says Griffin-Anderson. “I was really surprised, shocked and teary-eyed when she showed me. It’s exciting; a real thrill to know they actually know what we’re doing with Friday Night Live at Highlands. It goes to show you never know who is watching.”
Griffin-Anderson is the enthusiastic adviser for Friday Night Live (FNL) and Club Live (the middle school component of the program) at Highlands Academy of Arts & Design (HAAD). She’s also a computer teacher at the school.
The California FNL program was developed in 1984 in Sacramento by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and the California Office of Traffic Safety. It began as a pilot program dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by teen motorists driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. Young people were organized into high school-based student action groups, later renamed FNL Chapters. It was so successful, the program expanded with a statewide office. The focus began to shift also, from one of preventing drinking and driving among teens to promoting healthy lifestyles free of alcohol, tobacco and other substance abuse among teens.
Griffin-Anderson and her students love to do community outreach. They plan and organize a variety of activities and events for their school and the North Highlands community. The club participates each year in the North Highlands Jubilee, providing information about FNL and alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention. For the past three years FNL students have collected coats for the News10 Coats for Kids campaign. They read to elementary school students during Read Across America. They’re involved in Red Ribbon Week, and also encourage the entire student body to make pledges not to drink on prom night and graduation—a time when so many young people give in to peer pressure.
Only seven students were in the FNL club when Griffin-Anderson became the adviser three years ago. It was her second day on campus.
“I started recruiting right away and didn’t really generate a lot of interest,” says Griffin-Anderson. “So I decided we would have lunch at our meetings. I would get the food and soon the word spread among the students. Now we have over 30 members. I’m really proud of them. They’re very young but very eager to do the right thing.”
After three years together, Griffin-Anderson says they still meet for lunch, even when there’s no official meeting.
“The students come every day and have lunch with me and even stop by between classes just to say hello,” says Griffin-Anderson, who lives in the North Highlands community and has taught in the district for 19 years. “We talk about our community service. We talk about problems they’re having at home or school. We talk about raising money for our activities. And we talk about our upcoming trip to Six Flags. The entire campus gets involved with this trip at the end of the school year. We usually have two buses full of students. My FNL students are very close. They support each other and it’s just amazing to watch them. We’re a club, but it feels more like a family to all of us.”