Vaping ECHO for Education
In 2019, the Kansas State Board of Education asked that a task force be formed to assist schools in dealing with E-Cigarette/Vaping use by students. The E-Cigarette/Vaping Task Force determined the need for a Vaping-focused Project ECHO and produced a variety of educational materials, including two documents that have been approved by the Kansas State Board of Education:
- Kansas State Board of Education's Recommended Comprehensive Tobacco-Free School Grounds Policy (PDF)
- Kansas State Board of Education’s E-Cigarette/Vaping Disciplinary Recommendations (PDF)
Benefits for Participating Schools
- Participate in a ground-breaking approach to address vaping in schools.
- Create a school-centered team approach to address vaping in schools.
- Engage in a network of stakeholders committed to reducing vaping in schools.
- Increase confidence in schools’ ability to address vaping/tobacco treatment needs of students.
- Develop participants’ skills to provide support and referrals for vaping/tobacco treatment.
- Use tele-mentoring to access expert advice concerning prevention and vaping/tobacco treatment.
Participate in a Future Cohort
- Is vaping an issue at your school? Are you ready to address it and get students connected to the help they need? If yes, enroll in the Kansas Vaping ECHO for Education program for the 2023-2024 school year.
- The first step is completing the application, which will take approximately 10 minutes. You will be asked to provide information about your school, participants in the program, and what issues your school is facing. The application requires signatures from the primary contact completing the application, as well the school principal and superintendent. Schools will be notified initially in March and then on a rolling basis until August.
Apply to participate in a future cohort today
The Second Cohort
- The second cohort will consist of interested schools that applied to be Pilot Schools for the 2021-2022 Vaping ECHO for Education but were not selected.
- Schools in the second cohort will represent diversity in terms of rural, urban, socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic makeup.
- Participating schools are expected to be motivated to impact student use of vaping products and committed to fully participating in the sessions.
Orientation
The orientation will prepare our schools on what the Vaping ECHO for Education program will include and who in the State of Kansas is involved. In addition, each school will introduce their school team members.
Summit
The Summit kicked off the Vaping ECHO for Education program. Along with two prominent speakers, the Summit hosted a panel discussion about the current vaping landscape among youth.
Session Dates
The sessions will provide specialized training based on the tele-mentoring approach focused on addressing barriers and discussing solutions to better connect youth to cessation resources.
Introduction to Addiction and Cessation | September 21, 2022
Putting Cessation into Practice | October 5, 2022
Policy Best Practices and Legal Issues | October 19, 2022
Restorative Justice: A Student-Centered Approach | November 2, 2022
Engaging Community Partners | November 16, 2022
School Team Presentations | December 14, 2022
Debrief | Spring 2023
The Pilot Project
Details about Pilot Schools
- This is the first Project ECHO known to focus on vaping in schools.
- Twenty Pilot Schools were selected for participation in Cohort One of the Kansas Project ECHO on Vaping. Two schools were selected from each of the ten Kansas State Board of Education member’s districts.
Pilot School Resources
Session 1: Tobacco Prevention in a School Setting
Session 2: Legal Issues
Session 3: Introduction to Addiction and Cessation
Session 4: Putting Cessation into Practice
Session 5: Restorative Justice: A Student-Centered Approach
Session 6: Success Stories
Session 7: Sharing Progress
What Participants Said
“I appreciate the expert involvement. It's interesting to hear policies and practices of other schools’ districts, but also have the experts weigh in on them.”
“We enjoyed being part of the Pilot and look forward to seeing change across the state of Kansas and locally.”
“Our team learned a lot being a part of this pilot and we are very eager to make some much-needed policy changes and hopefully decrease the use of vaping in our area.”
“I thought the ECHO was great and loved getting even more resources to use and share with everyone to assist with tackling the vape problem with teens/all.”
“Our committee feels we have gained tremendously from the ECHO sessions throughout the year and are ready to move forward addressing our vaping issues.”