This week we were fortunate to host guest speaker, Chris Herren. Chris was an outstanding basketball player who played at Durfee High School in Fall River, MA. He continued his basketball career at Boston College and Fresno State. He was eventually drafted by the Boston Celtics and played basketball in Europe and Turkey. While these accolades are impressive, what he spoke to our students about was his battles with drug addiction.
I have been working in high schools for 18 years, and I have never seen such a captive audience at a high school assembly. Eight hundred students watched Chris Herren speak in our high school gymnasium - the same gym with the terrible floor, the leaky roof, and the poor lighting! An additional six hundred students watched him through a live feed in their classrooms. The impact was nothing short of amazing. Chris addressed real issues such as drug addiction, family issues, and how he got started on drugs - to quote Chris Herren, "No one gets up in the morning and says I want to be a junkie - I got my start with beer and pot and then the yellow pills."
The message shared with our students and staff was extremely powerful and has left an amazing impact on our students. On April 24th we will be partnering with the "Herren Project" and wearing purple to support students who stand against substance abuse. As principal I am VERY concerned about destructive decisions that our students are making in regards to their own substance issues. I encourage parents to contact the school with questions that arise - we want to work together through these difficult issues.
In closing, I will never forget the silence that existed at PSHS on Wednesday, April 11th as the entire school focused on Chris Herren and his message. Yet more importantly the hundreds of students who waited to talk to Chris at the end of the presentation was remarkable. Chris Herren stayed to speak with each one! Thank you Mr. Herren for helping our students see that bad things happen and there is a way out!
