By Justin Hauser, Principal, L’anse Creuse East Middle School
In April 2020, amidst the onset of the pandemic, I made a life-altering decision to quit smoking and vaping, a habit I had maintained for 20 years. Despite being a smoker, I concealed my habit with cologne during my commutes, lunch breaks, and even while advising middle school students to stay away from tobacco.
Upon quitting, I committed to repurposing my past vice to educate students. However, I faced the challenge of countering the compelling marketing strategies of vape product companies. Everyday items like highlighters and flash drives were revealed to deliver not education but addictive chemicals.
During the last school year, we invested considerable effort in tackling the pervasive issue of vaping, resorting to suspensions, parent meetings, and locker checks. Despite our efforts, we found ourselves constantly chasing down the fruity scents emanating from bathrooms.
Over the summer, we delved deeply into anti-vaping strategies, and the results are promising. This school year has seen a significant decrease, with only one reported case so far.
Key factors contributing to this improvement include
1) Partnering with F.A.N (Families Against Narcotics):
- Engaged in collaboration with Families Against Narcotics (F.A.N) for parent presentations.
- This partnership has proven to be an invaluable resource for our parents.
- F.A.N’s expertise in addiction support and family assistance has greatly benefited our community.
- Family Support and Addiction Help | Families Against Narcotics
2) Implementation of Smartpass:
- Introduced Smartpass technology, incorporating hall pass filters and restrictions.
- Enables effective management and monitoring of student movements to prevent unauthorized group gatherings.
- Smartpass serves as a comprehensive solution, including features like Hall Pass, Flex Manager, ID Cards, and more.
- SmartPass | Hall Pass, Flex Manager, ID Cards, & More
3) No-Cell-Phone Policy:
- Instituted a strict no-cell-phone policy to mitigate opportunities for student coordination.
- Prioritized parent involvement by surveying them to gather feedback and secure buy-in for the idea.
- The decision to implement the policy was made collaboratively, ensuring a well-informed and supported approach.
4) Integration of “Catch My Breath” Modules:
- Incorporated educational modules from “Catch My Breath” into our curriculum.
- These modules are specifically designed to deliver anti-vaping lessons tailored for middle school students.
- Addressing the critical issue of vaping among youth through a targeted and evidence-based educational program.
- Catch My Breath – Vape Education – Tobacco Youth Prevention
Moreover, we speculate (and hope) that the allure and popularity of vaping are diminishing, contributing to the positive trend we are witnessing. For more ideas on how to combat vaping, you can visit the MASSP Anti-Vaping Toolkit to both read ideas from others and share yours! If your school has a broadcasting class or creative students, the MDHHS-MASSP PSA contest through the Michigan Association of Broadcasters submission deadline is approaching quickly!