A new group of Whitehall-Coplay School District students has joined the Whitehall-Coplay Communities That Care coalition to add some valuable input. Middle school students Bryn Reichenbach and Katelyn Kohler and high school students Desiree London, Melissa Garcia and Synthia Layous attended their first meeting Sept. 27. The CTC took its first look into the 2023 Pennsylvania Youth Survey data. The PAYS is taken every two years by students to learn about their behaviors, attitudes and knowledge concerning alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and violence. It also explores students’ mental health and wellness, their commitment to school and the community and other risk and protective factors.

Districts are provided with anonymous reports of the compiled data to inform decisions about programming to help students.

CTC members looked into the first section regarding substance use in the district. It was noted the highest lifetime usage rate, as reported by the students, was alcohol, with vaping in second.

Some coalition members said they were surprised the number of students reporting vaping was not higher.

One of the high school students reported she is seeing less vaping from her peers, noting “it’s not the thing anymore.” Leanne Debrosse, of Valley Youth House, said she thinks the initial hype of the trend is over.

“I think kids are starting to get smarter, and the fad is fading,” she said.

It was reported vaping is still a problem in both the high school and middle school. Officer Matt Christman, school resource officer, questioned the truthfulness of the answers. He noted the vape detectors in the high school are still going off regularly.

The survey asked students what they were putting in their vapes. Coalition members were happy to see the numbers of students reporting “I don’t know” decreased, demonstrating an increase in youth paying attention to what they are putting in their bodies.

Additionally, coalition members noted accessibility is a problem, and it is too easy for youth to obtain vapes and supplies. Enforcement is a challenge in the township.

It was worth noting the number of students reporting drinking alcohol decreased. CTC members said it could be due to students getting back into routines following the COVID-19 pandemic. The last PAYS was taken in 2021, so students were still spending a lot of time at home, often unsupervised. They may have less access now that the world has opened back up.

Additionally, the number of students reporting binge drinking in the past two weeks dropped from the 2021 survey. Binge drinking was described as having five or more drinks in a row.

Low numbers were reported across the district for prescription and over-the-counter drug usage, as well as other harder drugs.

Whitehall High School Principal Dr. Peter Mayes and Christman reported they are not seeing an issue of students drinking at school or showing up drunk. However, they did say they notice some students smelling like marijuana when they show up in the morning.

Christman noted they are even seeing a shift in the township with more DUIs from marijuana than alcohol.

CTC members reported more education is needed about different strains and concentrations of THC. It was mentioned the marijuana plants and concentrated extract are more potent than in the past, and students don’t realize and make themselves sick.

At the next CTC meeting, set for Oct. 25, the coalition will look into the mental health section of the PAYS report.