CASA Vision Statement

WHAT IS CASA?

In February of 2005, a group of parents joined Susan Jacobs, the high school principal, in her ongoing work of trying to make the Harbor Springs Schools a “safe, drug free environment, and a highly effective high school.”  Susan had been working toward this end, but realized that the time was right to involve parents and the community.  The hope was that they could all work together to achieve the goal.

CASA was formed.  The initial work of the group was to focus on the drinking and drug problems that plague not only our school, but all schools.  If we could begin to turn young lives around, through providing counseling and education, we would have made a difference.  CASA does not claim to have all the answers to the abuses that manifest themselves in the teen years.  We do know that peer pressure is responsible for many of the wrong things our kids do.  If that negative peer pressure could be channeled to positive peer pressure, kids could be helped.  Our mission is to find the funds necessary to provide counseling for students, and ways to educate students at a young age before toxic behavior becomes a problem.  Our mission is also to provide education to the parents, teachers, and community about ways they can help in this ongoing struggle. 

We have already raised funds to provide “drug dogs” to search in the schools, educational materials that will be used in the classrooms, drug testing for students suspected using, and informational materials that will be available to anyone interested.  This will NOT be a one time thing.  The hope is to raise sufficient support to continue helping kids for years to come. 

 CASA has made a good start, but this is not something that the school alone can handle.  We must have the support of the whole community behind us.  This is the goal of CASA. 

327 East Bluff   Harbor Springs, MI 49740 

A proactive approach to substance abuse prevention and recovery