El Paso’s Smallest District Uses Advanced Detectors To Fight Vaping And Bullying

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso County’s smallest school district is taking a big step to curb the number of vaping incidents on its campuses, but there’s also something else they are cracking down using small devices.

Inside Anthony’s Middle and High school is something that sets them apart from other schools in our area which are vaping sensors placed throughout the schools as a way to help keep students safe.

The vape detectors in and around the two schools pick up more than just vape emissions. They also are able to detect bullying. KFO14 went inside Anthony High School for a closer look to test out their capability which Derek Peterson says is very effective. Peterson is the CEO of the Soter Technologies, the company behind installing the detectors found inside the district’s high school and middle school which he explained to us.

Peterson said two things are monitored, explaining, “They are going to monitor overall air quality and also sound anomalies’. We are looking for ways to find the vaping signatures and basically the vaping signature is a fingerprint in the air the notes get.” He said, “Once we sense these fingerprints that are these signatures in the air that was sensed, we’ll then sound a text message and/or email message and the same thing occurs when we detect a sound anomaly.”

Adriana Candelaria is the Communications Coordinator for Anthony ISD and believes the sensors, which have been in place since 2022, are one of the reasons their campuses have great success with safety and education. She stated, “We really want the students to be able to concentrate on their education, go on and become someone.”

Soter Technologies recently awarded the Soteria National Leadership Award to Anthony ISD for their efforts to reduce vaping among young people which Candelaria said the district wears proudly.

Candelaria said, “We are very honored to receive this award because we are a small school district and we feel that we are still being leaders in promoting safety for our students.”

Soter’s CEO believes installing the detectors can make a difference, but the biggest change to help tackle the growing trends of vaping and bullying among younger generations comes from a collaborative effort of the adults involved in the well-being of our youth.

According to Peterson, “Everyone has to be on the same page and act as one team to have a successful deployment, we call it anti-vaping campaign.”

Gina Doyon is an El Paso mom who believes these could be a game changer in schools everywhere and said, “I believe schools that school districts should all implement this. It is starting younger and younger and I think the sooner we start it, the better off we’ll all be.”

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