(NEXSTAR) — At Mountainside High School in Beaverton, Oregon, students are facing the realities of the fentanyl crisis head-on. In a school that encourages open discussions about drug awareness, the dangers of fentanyl have become a top priority.
Health teacher Jenn Hicks has witnessed many changes in her 27-year career, including the growing fentanyl crisis. Her mission to educate students is personal.
“There is one student that I was close to that I did lose to a fentanyl poisoning, and it has definitely inspired me to do more,” Hicks said.
Maddy Redding, a senior at Mountainside, enjoys ballet, reading, and spending time with friends. Tyler Heinrich, another senior, likes working out and playing video games. They are typical high school students attending what some might consider an atypical high school—one that prioritizes candid conversations about substance abuse and prevention.
For Maddy, the fight against fentanyl is personal as well. Just over a year ago, her uncle died from an overdose.
“It just has caused me to want to create a better community around and create a safe community with better awareness about it,” she said. “Because it truly is a really heartbreaking thing that happens to a family.”
Determined to make a difference, Maddy’s loss inspired her to create an awareness campaign, including a TikTok public service announcement produced in Hicks’ health class. “In 2022, 22 high schoolers died, on average, every week [from fentanyl] — this death count equals a high school classroom a week,” students said in the video.
Messages displayed throughout the school emphasize the potency of fentanyl—50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
For Tyler Heinrick, the lessons became reality during a football game when he dislocated his elbow and was given fentanyl by paramedics.
“My teammates told me it kind of went through…My elbow was straightened out and dislocated it,” Heinrick said. “Fire trucks came, and they gave me fentanyl. But before they said it, I was like, ‘Whoa, fentanyl?’ I’ve heard about this in health class and Miss Hicks’ class. I didn’t even know if it was safe.”
Hicks believes these educational efforts are making a real impact.
“I 100% know it is,” she said. “With Tyler’s situation, I almost put too much fear, but I love that his first reaction was like, ‘Whoa! Fentanyl?’ Like he was worried. We want kids to at least know the risk and what is it they are exposing themselves to.”
Mountainside High has also taken proactive steps by ensuring naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, is available on campus. While Oregon recently mandated the life-saving drug for public schools, Mountainside had already been stocking it for years.
“We look at it as a preventative safety measure,” Hicks explained. “Just like we make sure our schools are equipped with fire extinguishers, Narcan is a similar tool in that we want our buildings to have that just in case.”
“We really are trying to make this a community-wide effort and create a culture in our school where we can talk more openly about these issues around substance use,” Hicks said.
