GRANADA HILLS : Self-Esteem Group Honors Teacher
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Trying to emerge from the long shadow of the riots, Los Angeles County has honored a dozen people, including a Granada Hills High School teacher, for working to better the community.
“We all have to be concerned about what we can do as individuals” to improve the Los Angeles area, said Michael Lindsay, chairman of the county Task Force to Promote Self Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility.
Most of those recognized at the task force’s third annual awards luncheon Thursday are community members singled out for working without fanfare to remedy area problems.
One honoree was Granada Hills High teacher Allan Kakassy, who helped develop the school district’s peer counseling program, now offered at about 166 junior high, elementary and high school campuses. The program helps put students in touch with somebody their own age to help them sort out problems, when they are unwilling to approach parents, teachers or other adults.
Counselors are specially trained students who work one-on-one to help their peers triumph over substance abuse, violent behavior and suicidal tendencies.
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