After losing a local mom to an opioid overdose this month, one school superintendent in Middlesex County, NJ, is deciding to step up efforts in the ongoing fight against the opioid epidemic.

“At the end of the day, a first grade little girl is going to go home to a house that doesn’t have a mother,” superintendent David Cittadino told WCBS-TV. “And you know I’m going to say ‘What could we have done better?’”

Cittadino, who has attended at least half a dozen heart-breaking wakes of former students who have overdosed, decided to take an aggressive first step. He sent a letter home informing all eighth-grade parents and guardians that they have to attend a one-hour seminar about opioid use and addiction – and, if they don’t, they won’t receive a ticket to see their middle schoolers graduate.

The seminar, titled “Hidden in Plain Sight,” will be led by a former DEA official and is designed to help parents and guardians “find signs and signals [of opioid abuse] that they may not have already known,” Cittadino told WCBS-TV. While such seminars have been held in the past, attendance was optional and, sadly, low.

Some parents are up in arms over this controversial move while others praise Cittadino for being proactive.

For Cittadino, his main concern is protecting his students and their families and hopes this seminar will provide some much-needed, crucial information. “Because the more people we educate, the more impact it’s going to have. It saves lives in our community,” he told WCBS-TV.

Treating Opiate Addiction
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