Substance Abuse Prevention Reaches All Stillwater Schools for First Time

Stillwater Public Schools has secured a $225,000 grant over three years from the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board to fund comprehensive substance abuse prevention programs across the district. The funding represents a significant investment in evidence-based prevention strategies that now reach every school in the district for the first time.

"For the first time in Stillwater Public Schools history last year, we hit every single school with some sort of prevention programming," said Kira Frisby, Wellness and Trauma Response Coordinator at SPS. "We're using evidence-based prevention curriculums."

The grant, distributed at $75,000 per year, supports a range of initiatives including STEM-based educational programs, counseling services, and community partnerships. Rachel May, the district's Substance Abuse Counselor, provided prevention education to over 6,000 students across all schools last year through various programs and assemblies.

The district's success in securing the competitive grant reflects the rigorous evidence-based requirements implemented by the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board. Many school districts that received funding in previous years were denied this round due to insufficient evidence-based programming or compliance issues.

"If you look at all of the communities that got it last year, a lot of people got the $75,000, and they looked at what the communities did and then redid the entire grant application process where you had to essentially prove that you're using evidence-based strategies," Frisby explained.

One of the district's flagship prevention programs is "Mad Science," a STEM-based assembly that reaches all fifth-grade students. The interactive program demonstrates the dangerous chemicals found in vapes and cigarettes through hands-on experiments, including showing students healthy versus damaged pig lungs.

"All fifth graders in the school district get the Mad Science teacher who comes in," May explained. "It's really that hands-on learning experience where they get to watch in an assembly style where he shows them the dangerous chemicals that can be in vapes or cigarettes and talks about good decision making."

The district has implemented multiple evidence-based curricula tailored to different age groups. Elementary schools receive Mad Science programming plus additional prevention lessons, while middle and high school students participate in programs like SPORT (a resilience-focused curriculum emphasizing daily habits like sleep, exercise, and connection) and Third Millennium, an online program using motivational interviewing techniques.

For students who violate substance policies, the district has developed educational alternatives to traditional suspension. "Instead of just saying, hey, you're in ISS for three days or you're suspended for three days, it's like, hey, let's give them some learning opportunities," Frisby said.

The grant funding has proven crucial for maintaining staffing levels during budget constraints. A portion of the grant supports May's salary and helps retain three high-needs counselors who might otherwise have been lost due to district financial pressures.

"We would have lost three of our high-needs counselors who we're very lucky and fortunate to have if it weren't for grant funding," Frisby noted.

The district has also implemented Care Solace, a mental health care coordination service available to all students, families, and staff. The service provides support in 40 languages and connects users with appropriate mental health resources within 45 minutes of contact.

"We struggle in Stillwater with providing prevention and intervention when it comes to mental health or substance abuse in a different language," Frisby said. "Care Solace has care navigators that can connect families to therapists based on their unique needs, including language preferences and specializations."

Community partnerships play a central role in the district's prevention efforts. The Iowa Tribe has equipped all school sites with Narcan kits and trained staff on overdose recognition and response. The district also collaborates with local mental health professionals, including adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Rachel Carpenter from Stillwater Medical Center.

The district hosted a continuing education event in May that brought together substance abuse counselors from multiple school districts, representatives from Stillwater Medical Center, Grand Mental Health, and other community agencies. Despite promotional efforts and free food, community education events have faced attendance challenges.

"We promoted it, we had free food, and we probably had about 50 parents show up," Frisby said of a recent family engagement event. The district is exploring virtual options and different marketing strategies to increase participation.

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The programs address concerning trends in youth substance use. May noted that THC is now the number one drug found in young people who die by suicide, and modern marijuana products contain significantly higher THC concentrations than in previous decades.

"In the 90s, good weed was around 10% THC, and now with the concentrates, the dabs, the edibles, what most young people are using is 90% THC," May explained.

The district emphasizes that their approach focuses on developing brains rather than making moral judgments about adult choices. "We don't care what adults are doing, but we're most concerned about young people and how certain substances really can negatively impact their brain," Frisby said, noting that brain development continues until age 25.

Prevention messaging extends beyond substance abuse to include protective factors like adequate sleep, proper nutrition, and family connections. "All of these messages we're giving about sleep and water and movement and connections, these are all protective factor messages that will protect you, whether it's from substance abuse or from anything," Frisby said.

The district encourages community involvement and welcomes feedback from parents and community members. Information about all prevention programs and resources is available on the district's student support website, and parents can request additional educational resources for their children.

"We love community support and community involvement, and if anybody would ever want to reach out to us, whether it's to sit on one of our prevention teams or wellness teams or just attend events, we love that," Frisby said.