On February 28, parents and students from all around the district were invited to the LHS Safety and Drug Education program. The goal of the classes were to teach the community about many different concerns going on in teenagers’ lives.

There were five different classes: Dangers of Vaping, School Safety & Reporting Concerns, Social Media (Parents & Guardians Only), Drug Use & Effects and Mental Health Awareness & Resources. The classes took place across four 20-minute sessions. Parents could attend any class across the four sessions.

Many parents were interested in learning what’s going on in high schools and what problems their kids might have to deal with.

“I work in the health care field, so I was interested in learning what dangers students are facing today,” said a parent who attended the Dangers of Vaping class.

Todd Crum, who works at the Frederick County Health Department, was teaching the Dangers of Vaping class. Crum has worked at the Health Department for 25 years.

“I’ve always been interested in preventing harm, it’s always been one of my passions to help people so that’s why I came out tonight,” said Crum.

The whole night wasn’t just for parents. Many students also attended classes. Sophomore Joey Dorman went to the Mental Health Awareness & Resources class.

“I learned that children who have childhood trauma are more likely to mirror the behaviors around them when they’re older, possibly causing childhood trauma for their own kids,” said Dorman. “I thought that was very interesting.”

The number of people that attended goes to show that the goal was achieved. Teachers of the classes hope that what they taught can be spread to others through the parents and students and change school environments for the better.