Every student at Calvary Lutheran High School took a pledge last spring, and this month, the school was rewarded for it.
The nonprofit Safe and Sober, Inc. rewarded Calvary Lutheran and its students by giving the school a $500 check for having 100 percent of the students take a pledge to be safe and sober.
"Out of all of our schools this year, they were one of the top performing schools," Safe and Sober's Director Mackenzie Hernandez said of Calvary Lutheran's performance. Hernandez said only nine high schools in the state out of 310 reached that level.
She added even all of those schools that did have a top-level performance did not necessarily get a check; that depended on having regular communication and sending photos as well as participation.
Safe and Sober is dedicated to educating Missouri high school students, middle school students and their parents on the dangers of underage drinking, drunk driving and drug use.
A news release explained in the past school year, 462 middle and high schools with more than 160,000 students statewide registered for the free program. The program is made available by a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation and private donations. Each school received a kit of educational materials including pledge cards for each student, discussion guides and a video designed to illustrate the dangers and consequences of underage drinking and drunk driving.
The pledge cards ask students for their name, signature and grade, and to check any of six boxes that apply:
I will not drink until I am at least 21 years old
I will not drink throughout high school
I will not drink this school year
I will never drink and drive
I will not use drugs or misuse prescription pills
I will not ride with someone who has been drinking or using drugs
"I believe that the Safe and Sober program serves as a strong reinforcer for students, assisting them as they make safe decisions which will affect them, as well as their loved ones," Denise Crider, a teacher at Calvary Lutheran said in the news release.
Calvary Lutheran hosted an assembly to show a video sent by Safe and Sober before it asked its students to commit to take the pledge.
Hernandez explained the video shows the story of a Missouri teenager who became paralyzed in a car crash in which she was drinking and driving.
"She really takes ownership of her decision to drink and drive," and the video also "shows students it can happen to anyone and can happen from one time," she said.
The video also then went on to highlight the dangers of binge drinking and warning signs someone may have a chronic problem with alcohol.
There was also a motivational piece in the video that incorporated testimonies from parents.