What you need to know
In a Feb. 20 update on the district's improvement plan provided by Wes Vanicek, the district's chief strategist for assessment and feedback, it was reported that the number of student incidents involving THC and vaping among students in the district fell from 185 in the fall semester of 2022 to 95 in the fall semester of 2023.
Vanicek attributed the fall in incidents to a new strategy implemented by the district during the 2022-23 school year: a vaping prevention and action team.
About the program
Over the 2022-23 school year and into the 2023-24 school year, Vanicek said this team of administrators and central office staff have researched methods of deterring vaping and THC use among students, traveling to campuses in nearby districts to learn new strategies for combating substance use on school property.
"That was kind of the research side of it, bringing that back home to our other campus administrators," Vanicek said. "[Administrators looked for] good practices that lead to reducing stress and the opportunities that lead to vaping incidents."
Among the strategies employed since the team's implementation are:
- Preventing access to locations utilized by students to use these substances
- Limiting the number of students allowed to leave the classroom at strategic times
- Random searches utilizing drug detecting dogs through partnerships with law enforcement
