As vaping continues to be an ongoing issue in public schools, Bellefonte High decided to help decrease vaping by installing smart sensors in all the public restrooms.
According to Avigilon, a smart sensor not only helps detect vapors, but can also detect THC, chemicals, gas, aggression, calls for help, and gunshots. It also acts as an air quality monitor and alerts administrators of vandalism and trespassing in real time. These sensors were put in places where cameras can not be implemented to keep spaces safe for students.
Bellefonte’s High School and Middle School have noticed a major uptick in the usage of e-cigarettes in recent years. According to the CDC in 2022, about 1 in 10 or 2.55 million U.S. middle and high school students used e-cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days, including 3.3% of middle school students and 14.1% of high school students.
Vice Principals Mr. Andy Caruso and Mrs. Katrina Lee played a big factor in the installment, listening to the students and parents to help try and solve the problem within the school district.
“Parents and students have communicated to us that vaping at school is a serious issue at BAHS. This is an issue for most public schools. We’ve had parents express to us that they are concerned that students are being introduced to vaping at school by their peers. Several other local districts have already installed safety sensors in the restrooms and the feedback we received from them was positive, so we made the decision to get safety devices installed,” Mr. Caruso said.
These vape detectors have been in the works for a while. Other local districts, including State High and Bald Eagle, have these safety sensors installed in hopes of helping the ongoing issue.
Mr. Caruso’s motivation to solve this problem came from students who felt uncomfortable doing something as simple as using the restroom.
“When I first started working at the high school four years ago, several very good students expressed to me that they tried to avoid our restrooms as much as possible because it was common to find students in there goofing around, vaping, etc. This upset me as students should be able to go into a restroom at our school, do what they need to do, and leave. The measures we have put in place are not an effort to just ‘catch kids doing the wrong thing.’ Our goal is to prevent a small group of students who are making poor decisions from making something as simple as using the restroom uncomfortable for other students,” Mr. Caruso said.
The sensors have been installed for around two months and have had an impact on the school while working efficiently. Mr. Caruso believes this is helping to decrease vaping in our schools.
“I’m sure students will work to find ways to work around the sensors, but they have been very accurate thus far. We are not going to stop vaping altogether, but I believe that this will decrease how often and how openly it happens,” Mr. Caruso said.
