(SHNS Photo)
School district implementing cessation program
WESTFIELD – Vaping is one of the top reasons students are being suspended from school and Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski is taking measures to help students quit the habit.
“We’re going to be starting a Saturday school option for students caught vaping. Our goal is to help students quit,” said Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski.
He said suspension isn’t helping, because students go home and continue vaping. While vaping is a violation of school policies and there must be consequences, he said the district would like to give students a chance to stop before kicking them out. Expulsion is one consequence in the handbook.
Czaporowski said there is more nicotine in the cartridges than in cigarettes, and students are becoming addicted. “We’ve had some kids that have said, `I want to quit, but can’t,’ “ he said. “We want to be able to help our kids, not punish them for something they can’t quit.”
The Saturday school will be held at Westfield High School between the hours of 8 a.m. and noon. The district just posted a position to oversee the Saturday school, and Czaporowski said he hopes to start it soon after February vacation.
“We’ve held Saturday school before, but not for this purpose. Once we hire the counselor, we are going to develop more guidelines. The first offense would likely be one session to start. Since it’s a pilot year, we are going to be flexible to see what is and isn’t effective. Our goal is to help students quit vaping, but we also need to hold students accountable for violating school and district policies,” Czaporowski said.
The district is also partnering with River Valley Counseling Services in Holyoke to refer students with substance abuse issues, including nicotine. The counseling service offers a 10 to 14-session program for adolescents and young adults, ages 12 to 24.
The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach is a brief, intensive evidence-based treatment to support recovery from substance abuse. One to four of the sessions are with parents or caregivers.
Czaporowski said a referral to the program from school adjustment counselors is another option to help students with substance abuse. He said the program is for the students, but parents are involved. Parents will be billed for the program through insurance, but no student is refused help for inability to pay.
River Valley Counseling will host some groups in Westfield, and will also provide transportation to its center in Holyoke, he said.
Czaporowski said if parents have a concern or want to get their children help through the program, they should reach out to their building principal. He said young parents can also participate in the River Valley Counseling program.
For questions on the River Valley Counseling Center, a member of Valley Health Systems, call Kimberly Fernald at 413-540-1100 ext. 1345, or email [email protected].
“I want our kids in school,” Czaporowski said.
