PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After losing several students to fentanyl overdoses in 2020 and 2021, Beaverton School District has added mandatory fentanyl-specific lessons for students in sixth grade through twelfth grade to teach students about the dangers of the synthetic drug.
In addition to the annual fentanyl courses and its “Fake and Fatal: One Pill can Kill” campaign, the school district also has overdose reversal drug Narcan available in all secondary schools that can be administered by staff.
“Fortunately, we have not had any deaths, to our knowledge, since we launched the campaign in April 2021. But we keep at it. We have to keep hitting that message,” said Beaverton School District Public Communications Officer Shellie Bailey-Shah.
“Fentanyl is rampant, and I think what we’re seeing is that the typical drug user has a different profile. Like, many of these kids are reaching out for these pills to self-medicate for anxiety issues or mental health issues and what they’re not getting is Xanax, it’s not Percocet, it’s fentanyl. In many, many cases, it’s a deadly dose of fentanyl,” Bailey-Shah said.
Marking Fentanyl Awareness Week, and Fentanyl Awareness Day on Tuesday, Bailey-Shah said the school district is focusing on its social media messaging to inform parents and students about the drug.
“There are national studies that say that two-thirds of kids do not understand the dangers, or can’t articulate the dangers, of Fentanyl. I’d like to think our Beaverton students are doing better. We really do think they are hearing the message and the fact that we’ve lost students in our district, it hits home, and I think students are understanding that,” Bailey-Shah said.
It’s equally important for schools and parents to teach kids about the dangers of fentanyl, Bailey-Shah said and pointed to the school’s counseling approach when it comes to drugs.
“Instead of automatically, ‘Oh, you’re in trouble because we found out you’re using drugs.’ We’re trying to help kids and get to the core of what the issue was and help them and their family connect to resources in the community,” Bailey-Shah explained.
On May 18, the Beaverton School District is hosting a community conversation about fentanyl at 6:30 p.m. at the district administrative office. The school is hosting a panel discussion, moderated by KOIN 6 News’ Jenny Hansson, and will include law enforcement and a Beaverton School District family who lost their son to a fentanyl overdose.
The discussion, which will also be live streamed on YouTube, will also inform parents on what to look out for on social media, where Bailey-Shah says the drug transactions happen.