MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A "drug recovery" school is coming to the lakeshore.
- A $75,000 DPI grant will allow MPSD to open their own "drug recovery" high school
- The school will offer personalized counselors, preparation for the workforce and a community
- If all goes to plan, it will open at Stangel Learning Center next school year
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Here’s how the Manitowoc Public School District is aiming to combat drug addiction, among students, after a $75,000 grant from the state department of public instruction.
"We see as a nation, drug use with lower and lower (age) kids is becoming more prevalent,” said Stephanie Boncher
Boncher is the district's personalized learning programs administrator. She wrote the application that led to the DPI grant.
"A lot of times they don't even know they have the harder drugs,” said Boncher. “We see fentanyl in school now and a lot of the times kids don't even know that they have fentanyl."
Boncher says this happens through other drugs, or even nicotine vape, being laced. According to the Manitowoc County youth risk behavior survey. In 2021, 11% of kids reported misuse of over-the -counter medication, 13% reported marijuana use.
"Now we can be the district that has this specialized program to provide this support for these kids that need it all over the county,” said Boncher.
She told me the recovery school will give the affected students personalized care from counselors, transitional learning preparing them for the workforce and a community.
"There's really no replacement for that shared experience,” said Jason Latva. “The experience, strength and hope of a person dealing with the same issues as you are."
Jason Latva is the Executive Director of Lighthouse Recovery Community Center in Manitowoc. He says, this type of support system could save lives.
"The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety, it's connection,” said Latva. "Developing and cultivating an environment for them to grow in their recovery along with their educational needs, that's a huge win."
If all goes as planned, the recovery school would open here at the Stangel Learning Building at the start of next school year. Manitowoc is one of just four districts in the state to receive this $75,000 grant.
