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Minnetonka Middle School East partners with Tonka Cares and Change the Outcome to educate eighth graders on opioids and vaping
Summary
Minnetonka Middle School East presented a prevention program for all eighth graders in partnership with Tonka Cares and the nonprofit Change the Outcome. Staff described the program—s focus (pathways to misuse, fentanyl-laced counterfeit press pills, and where to get help) and reported positive pre/post survey results.
Pete Dimmit, principal of Minnetonka Middle School East, briefed the board on an opioid and vaping education effort the school conducted for all eighth graders.
Dimmit said the school partnered with Tonka Cares and a nonprofit called Change the Outcome to present personal accounts and education to students. Presenters included parents who had lost children to overdose and young adults who had struggled with opioid addiction; their talks covered common pathways from experimentation to dependence, warning signs, and how to seek help.
Change the Outcome presenters emphasized the specific danger of counterfeit "pressed" pills containing fentanyl and showed students side-by-side photos of legitimate pharmaceutical pills and counterfeit versions, explaining there is no reliable way to tell the difference. The presenters told students that, in seized counterfeit pills referenced in the program, seven out of every ten contained lethal doses of fentanyl.
The program included a preliminary documentary shown during advisory and an hour-and-a-half presentation. Dimmit reported positive pre/post survey results showing improved student understanding of personal risk factors, types of opioids, and the risks of counterfeit pills. The presentation was delivered to all eighth graders; Minnetonka Middle School West planned a similar presentation the following week.
Dimmit said the initiative followed feedback from high school students urging middle-grade conversations about drugs and that the district's schedule changes next year (moving health coursework to eighth grade and adding an eighth-grade seminar) will create additional venues for such conversations. Board members commended the approach and asked about the grade targeted for the survey; Dimmit confirmed it was eighth grade.
The board noted the program was the second year the district had used Change the Outcome and thanked Tonka Cares and local partners for arranging the presentations.
