AHS Student Presents at Statehouse Roundtable

AHS student Laniya Simon was chosen to be a special guest and presenter at a recent Project AWARE Mental Health Roundtable at the Indiana Statehouse. During her presentation, Laniya spoke about the vital role of racial justice and fairness in supporting students' mental health and wellness. Laniya was selected to participate in the roundtable based on her participation in mental health supports, her kind and caring personality, and her advocacy for mental health at Avon High School.

AHS Counselor Brittany Cheviron, who was also in attendance, says, "Laniya identified unjust discrepancies and unequal opportunities that occur in schools based on the color of students’ skin [and] then advocated for our state leader to take their awareness of this and put it into actionable change." Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner was among the distinguished and influential attendees. Cheviron added, "She awed everyone in the room with her story, her truth, and her vulnerability!"

Thank you, Laniya, for representing Avon Schools so well!

Project AWARE Indiana is an organization "committed to Changing the Frequency" around the school-based mental health conversation. Avon Schools is one of three Indiana school corporations chosen in 2018 as demonstration sites for the program. Since then, Mental Wellness Coordinator Krista Fay has been leading an expanded Mental Wellness Team made up of school social workers focused on creating a mental wellness continuum across all 12 schools in the corporation. Project AWARE's efforts have expanded, now involving 11 Indiana school corporations. The organization states that "all Project AWARE sites are working to create sustainable school-based mental health systems and supports for future statewide implementation."