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Schools install vape sensors to catch nicotine use among teens · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Schools install vape sensors to catch nicotine use among teens.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Tom Collins, This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Remember when
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  Speaker 1: Hall monitors would patrol school restrooms to catch somebody lighting
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  Speaker 1: up a cigarette. Times have changed. Cigarettes are out, but
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  Speaker 1: vaping is very in. Local school officials are concerned about
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  Speaker 1: miners getting started with nicotine. Many, in fact, have installed
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  Speaker 1: aerosol nicotine sensors to catch illicit vaping. Hall High School
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  Speaker 1: has had Halo smart sensors in restrooms and locker rooms
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  Speaker 1: for a few years now, Superintendent Jesse Brandt said. Brandt
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  Speaker 1: said quietly dispatched workers to install the Spring Valley campus
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  Speaker 1: over winter break twenty twenty two to twenty three. Hall
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  Speaker 1: isn't the only one to install sensors. Shaw Local spoke
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  Speaker 1: with superintendents at area high school and found that about
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  Speaker 1: half of them use aerosol nicotine sensors. Local superintendents agree
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  Speaker 1: that underage nicotine use is a growing problem. According to
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  Speaker 1: figures from the Centers for Disease Control, more than one
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  Speaker 1: point six million students, nearly six percent, use e cigarettes.
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  Speaker 1: Some schools have responded with detection systems. Saint Bede Academy
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  Speaker 1: won't say where the devices were installed. They don't want
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  Speaker 1: any tampering or disabling, but Superintendent Eve Postula said the
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  Speaker 1: use of vape sensors has played a role in our
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  Speaker 1: detection and deterrent protocol. Saint Bede is aware of and
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  Speaker 1: concerned with the growing use of vaping devices among teens
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  Speaker 1: and the associated health consequences. Postula said these devices are
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  Speaker 1: distinct from the smoke detectors in your home. Smoke detectors
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  Speaker 1: emit an ear piercing signal meant to rouse people to
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  Speaker 1: get out. Nicotine sensors issue an alert to designated personnel
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  Speaker 1: via text and email. How well do they work, One
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  Speaker 1: superintendent said he hasn't been too impressed. Our experience with
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  Speaker 1: them has been mixed, as we have found some inconsistency
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  Speaker 1: in their effectiveness and reliability, said Andrew Berlinsky, superintendent of
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  Speaker 1: Princeton High School. We have discussed exploring other vendors and
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  Speaker 1: technologies in the future to determine whether there are more
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  Speaker 1: effective options available. One school resource officer said he doesn't
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  Speaker 1: think automated sensors are the answer. Brian Zebron, school resources
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  Speaker 1: officer for the Peru Police Department said he's wary of
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  Speaker 1: using detection devices and discipline to curb nicotine use. A
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  Speaker 1: better approach, he said, is to have a dialogue and
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  Speaker 1: ask what stressors or problems have the student using nicotine
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  Speaker 1: as a coping mechanism. The question we need to ask is, hey, kid,
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  Speaker 1: why are you doing this? Zebron said. That's how we
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  Speaker 1: get to the root of the problem and start to
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  Speaker 1: find ways to prevent further abuse. Even the schools that
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  Speaker 1: don't currently have aerosol nicotine sensors have discussed acquiring them.
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  Speaker 1: Ottawa Township High School is among the schools that don't
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  Speaker 1: have sensors, at least not yet. We continue to research
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  Speaker 1: available technologies and are hopeful that in the future these
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  Speaker 1: devices may serve as an additional tool to help address
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  Speaker 1: this growing issue, Superintendent Michael Cushing said. Similarly, LaSalle, Peru
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  Speaker 1: Township High School does not have nicotine sensors installed at
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  Speaker 1: this time, but Matt Baker, director of Communication, said LP
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  Speaker 1: administration officials have discussed nicotine vaping detectors for a number
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  Speaker 1: of years. For now, security personnel are tasked with patro